Nigerian English Dictionary

A DICTIONARY OF NIGERIAN ENGLISH

[DRAFT CIRCULATED FOR COMMENT]

Roger Blench Mallam Dendo 8, Guest Road Cambridge CB1 2AL United Kingdom Voice/Answerphone/Fax. 0044-(0)1223-560687 E-mail [email protected] http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roger_blench/RBOP.htm

Cambridge, Sunday, 07 August 2005

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abbreviations...................................................................................................................................................ii Preface ..............................................................................................................................................................ii Introduction .....................................................................................................................................................1 Sources..............................................................................................................................................................1 Spelling .............................................................................................................................................................1 Nigerian English/West African English.........................................................................................................1 Pidgin versus Nigerian English ......................................................................................................................1 Auxiliaries ........................................................................................................................................................2 Student slang....................................................................................................................................................2 Pronunciation spellings ...................................................................................................................................2 Re-interpretation of pidgin .............................................................................................................................3 Style versus substance .....................................................................................................................................3 From NE to SE.................................................................................................................................................4 Spelling pronunciation ....................................................................................................................................4 Missionary English ..........................................................................................................................................4 Scientific names, and trade names .................................................................................................................4 Regional variation ...........................................................................................................................................4 Phonology .........................................................................................................................................................5 Parts of Speech.................................................................................................................................................5 References ........................................................................................................................................................6 B. .......................................................................................................................................................................2 C. .......................................................................................................................................................................5 D. .......................................................................................................................................................................7 E. .......................................................................................................................................................................9 F.........................................................................................................................................................................9 G......................................................................................................................................................................10 H......................................................................................................................................................................12 I. ......................................................................................................................................................................13 J. ......................................................................................................................................................................14 K......................................................................................................................................................................14 L. .....................................................................................................................................................................15 M. ....................................................................................................................................................................16 N. .....................................................................................................................................................................18 O......................................................................................................................................................................18 P.......................................................................................................................................................................19 Q......................................................................................................................................................................22 R. .....................................................................................................................................................................22 S.......................................................................................................................................................................23 T. .....................................................................................................................................................................25 U. .....................................................................................................................................................................27 V. .....................................................................................................................................................................27 W. ....................................................................................................................................................................27 X. .....................................................................................................................................................................28 Y. .....................................................................................................................................................................28 Z. .....................................................................................................................................................................28 Numbers .........................................................................................................................................................29

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Abbreviations AE African English Amer. American (for Americanisms)arch. archaic dial. dialect et. etymologically euph. euphemism fig. figurative hum. humorous id. idiom ideo. ideophone ins. insulting joc. jocular lit. literally NE Nigerian English NNE Northern Nigerian English SE Standard English SNE Southern Nigerian English sc. sl. schoolboy slang st. sl. student slang TE Tropical English

Preface This dictionary of Nigerian English was stimulated by some enquiries from the Oxford English Dictionary on words of putative West African origin. The OED faces an increasingly uphill struggle in its attempts to capture World English; almost every Anglophone country has now developed a set of distinctive uses, some more divergent than others. It is surprising, however, that Nigerian English has never been the subject of a published dictionary; rumours abound of mighty manuscripts, but these have yet to see the light of day. A recent publication by Igboanusi goes some way towards remedying this deficiency but the inclusion here of many words not in his dictionary indicates how much work is still to be done. The present manuscript is a draft of a document that will eventually, I hope, become a collective product. I doubt that one individual could produce anything very comprehensive; Nigeria is too diverse and regionalised. But it seems sensible to lay down an initial marker; then additions can be made. I am circulating this to individuals I know have an interest; but please send any further information, comments, emendations etc. to the email or address given on the title page.

Roger Blench Cambridge

Sunday, 07 August 2005

Dictionary of Nigerian English Circulation Draft Roger Blench

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Introduction These notes are intended to raise some issues on sources, interpretation and the definition of Nigerian English. Sources1 One of the most difficult issues in lexicography is documenting usages in a semi-written language. If dictionaries of indigenous African languages are prepared they usually depend entirely on oral sources and thus no specific justification is given for entries. However, Nigerian English is sometimes written, especially in newspapers and magazines, and thus has some sort of orthographic tradition. Nonetheless, many of the most picturesque expressions are strictly oral and must still be captured in the present document. Although previous studies in this direction have tended to cite novels or literary works (notably Jowitt 1991) these are sometimes unrepresentative of the spoken language. I have therefore used newspaper, notices and overheard speech as sources. Example sentences not specifically sourced should be treated as based on the author’s or his correspondents’ experiences. Spelling Nigerian English is printed regularly in the newspapers and since much of it consists of using SE in extended senses spelling is generally not a problem. Some forms of pidgin origin such as ‘done’ have conventional representations, e.g. ‘don’. However, others, such as ‘rubber’ are pronounced in a variety of forms, such as rçba, rUba etc. depending on sociolinguistic considerations. To capture this, I have written phonologised pronunciations in square brackets after head entry. Thus; leather [lεda] Nigerian /Ghanaian/ West African English One of the more surprising things about Nigerian English is the extent to which it has a common lexicon and grammar with other West African Englishes, notably Ghanaian. A guide to Ghanaian English (Kirby 1998) provides an interesting comparison with the present document and parallel forms are noted2. I have less information about Cameroun, Sierra Leone and Gambia and would welcome further insights. However, the puzzle is the history of some of these forms. Do they go back to the early days of colonial presence on the coast or are they more recent products of the massive migration of Ghanaians to Nigeria during the oil-boom era of the 1970s and 1980s? Probably both, but only a detailed scanning of earlier sources will provide answers. Pidgin versus Nigerian English Nigerian English is regarded as distinct from Pidgin English, although the exact location of the boundary between them differs from speaker to speaker. Some expressions are regarded as strictly Pidgin, for example pickin for 'child' and sabi for 'to know'. I have thought it best to be quite inclusive, but no doubt some of the entries will be questioned.

1 Thanks to Philip and Vicky Ostien and especially to Kay Williamson for many useful suggestions. 2 Prof. Mary Esther Kropp-Dakubu of Legon University has kindly gone through the draft text and marked all those entries which also have parallels in Ghanaian English.


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Auxiliaries Often the distinctiveness of Nigerian verbs in use consists of unusual auxiliaries applied to conventional verbs. Some of these are as follows; done he done go he went [Pidgin!] got the thing got spoiled the water got finished has he has go he went [just imperfect learning, not standard] use to he use to come here he comes here regularly [back formation from used to] Student slang Schools and universities are good but extremely localised sources of slang; Ibadan University in particular seems to have been an important source of unusual expressions. Indeed a small book was published of these expressions when Ibadan was the only university (Opara & Oleghe 1956). Asomugha (1981) began life as a compendium of student slang but was enlarged to take in some more mainstream Nigerian English expressions. Such expressions are often highly localised in time and place; few expressions mentioned in this book appear to be still in use. Where a term seems to be student slang I have noted it; this is a rich and distinct field. Kay Williamson (p.c.) has supplied a number of expressions currently (2002) in use in the University of Port Harcourt, but it is difficult to know how widespread these are. Tropical English There are numerous terms which may be termed ‘Tropical English’; unknown to most speakers of SE, they are nonetheless not specific to Nigeria, but are nonetheless widely used across the Anglophone tropics. This is very common in pan-tropical plants, for example ‘oil-palm’ or ‘yam-mound’. I have marked these in the text as TE. Pronunciation spellings These are spellings which arise because two English words are pronounced alike by Nigerians and the two spellings, which reflect different pronunciations for SE speakers, get confused or treated as equivalent. Most are nonce-forms, but the following examples are typical.


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She feels her life to be sleeping away from her finger. SE [slIpIN] and [sli:pIN] merge as NE [slipiN]

He is well vast in the Igbo proverbs. SE [v‰:st] and [va:st] merge as NE [vast] …to deep his hand in the bag SE [dIp] and [di:p] merge as NE [dip] …capable of performing impossible fits SE [fIt] and [fi:t] merge as NE [fit] She turned out to develop cold fit for the husband when the going became bad.

SE [fIt] and [fi:t] merge as NE [fit]

Nigerians from all works of life … SE [w‰k] and [wO:k] merge as NE [wOk] Pack your car here. SE [pœk] and [pA:k] merge as NE [pak] laddle reflects the common Nigerian

pronunciation [ladEl] Source: Kay Williamson Portmanteau words The portmanteau word, first introduced by Lewis Carroll as a humorous excursus of Humpty-Dumpty, is a lexical reality in Nigeria. Two sound-alikes are combined into a single form as the following examples show; impressionario is a common written form of impressario, presumably a portmanteau form ‘impressario’ +

‘impression’ virgina common spelling of vagina presumably by re-interpretation from virgin Re-interpretation of Pidgin An interesting process is the movement from Pidgin back into Nigerian English through relexicalisation. For example;

Pidgin de ting no gree boil the liquid will not boil NE the kettle did not agree to boil the kettle won’t boil

The pidgin expression is primary and it has been re-expressed by a speaker who sees the second formulation as more prestigious. Style versus substance The most comprehensive sources for Nigerian English prior to this are Jowitt (1991) and Igboanusi (2002). When native English speakers try to characterise Nigerian English it is clear that their personal perceptions play an important role in determining which lexical items or usages are distinctive. For example, Nigerian newspapers often use the stereotyped expression ‘men of the underworld’ to refer to criminals. This would be unlikely to occur in a current British newspaper, and has an archaic or jocular feel to it. Still, it is perfectly comprehensible to a speaker of standard English and the component words show no significant lexical deviation from their normal meanings. Contrast this with ‘area-boys’, also referring to criminals, which would have no meaning to a speaker of Standard English. Thus, although I have carefully been through the previous sources, I have excluded many entries that seem to be matters of style rather than true lexical difference.


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From NE to SE A similar process occurs where NE is being relexicalised to SE by certain speakers. Generally speaking, the newspapers, formerly a great source of NE expressions, have become closer to SE since the 1980s, almost certainly due to greater exposure to SE forms through the dissemination of news magazines such as Time and Newsweek. For example; ‘hotel’ is commonly applied to bars and drinking places that serve food but may have no lodging and ‘hotel’ in the SE sense is ‘guest hotel’. But modern usage is gradually replacing this so that NE is coming to conform to SE. Spelling pronunciation Nigerian English has one or two distinctive spelling-pronunciations, the most characteristic of which is to always pronounce written ‘ch’ as /tS/ even when Standard English has /S/. Two common examples are the personal name Charlotte, where /tSarlçt/ is heard in place of /Sarlçt/ and ‘chalet’, pronounced /tSalEt/ rather than /Sale/. The second syllable of ‘chalet’ case illustrates another example of spelling pronunciation, but this is in turn a loanword into English. Missionary English I have marked some entries ME, ‘Missionary English’. Missionaries seem to have been responsible for some particular usages that were propagated via church materials. These include pejorative terms for traditional religion such as ‘idol’, ‘fetish’ and ‘juju’, but also a series of terms for animals, assimilating indigenous West African animals to those found in Europe and north America. These include ‘fox’ for genet and ‘rabbit’ for giant rat. [Many of the early missionaries were of Sierra Leonean rather than European origin; possibly some of these are due to their interpretations of English words.] Scientific names, and trade names In the early colonial era, when many new species were coming to scientific attention and the uses of those known botanically were also being explored, many West African vernacular names were developed, notably for timbers and for economic grasses. These were used in colonial literature but with a few exceptions never really entered West African speech and are rarely heard today. For example, the African olive, Canarium schweinfurthii, is called the ‘bush-candle’ in older literature. Charming and evocative as this name is, I have never heard it in current speech and perhaps it was only ever used by forestry officers in the colonial era. I have entered such forms sparingly, pending further evidence of their context of use. Nonetheless, there are a great many names for the timbers of Nigerian trees that are used, although in the specialised context of the timber trade. Some of these are Nigerian, used in the West African region and some have become international trade names. I have adopted the entries from FMI (1964) sometimes updated with reference to Burkill (1985 ff.). Regional variation There is considerable regional variation in NE, most notably between north and south, but also east and west. The lexicon presented in Igboanusi (2002) for example, is rich in Yoruba and Igbo terms, but omits many terms from the North, the Delta and Calabar. The presence of large communities of migrants, especially in urban areas somewhat blurs these distinctions but nonetheless it is possible to assign some terms to specific areas of the country. I have marked these where known, but considerable further work is required. There also seem to be quite a large number of terms local to the Niger Delta, often reflecting its specialised environment and history.


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Phonology It is not yet clear whether it would be reasonable to say NE has a phonology. Borrowings from indigenous languages in different regions import phonemes that are alien to English. For example, the labial-velars, /kp/ and /gb/ are found in SNE in loans but are generally absent from NNE, as are the items they denote. An interesting further issue is the presence of tone. Some exclamations clearly have contrastive tone, typically High-Low; òóò tag placed at the beginning of sentences, following the assertion of a previous speaker indicating

negative consequences but lexical tone appears to have little functional role in other parts of the vocabulary. Parts of Speech The following table shows the abbreviations used in Column 2 of the dictionary. Some of these assignations should be regarded as highly provisional. Abbreviation

Full form Explanation

a. Adjective Describes a noun a.p. Adjectival phrase Describes a noun

adv. Adverb Qualifies a verb adv.p. Adverbial phrase Qualifies a verb cond. Conditional Expresses the relation between two events conj. Conjunction A word used to join two or more nouns, verbs or clauses dem. Demonstrative Words used to point out something. 'this', 'that' etc. excl. Exclamation Greetings or expressions that do not form part of an ordinary sentence

int. Interrogative Question words n. Noun Refers to things, objects etc.

n.p. Noun phrase Phrase where a head-noun is joined to other words to form an expression

num. Numeral Number part. Particle Short words added to complete the sentence p.n. Proper Name A name of a person or object; always capitalised

p.u.t. Pre-utterance tag A tag or exclamation used prior to an utterance to indicate the underlying sense of the utterance

prep. Preposition A word positioning nouns or verbs in time or space pron. Pronoun A word that stands for a noun

sal. Salutation A word or phrase that stands alone as a greeting or introduces a dialogue

s.t. Sentence tag A word or clause standing at the end of a sentence, that intensifies the meaning in some way but is unnecessary to the syntax.

v. Verb Expresses action v.aux. Verbal auxiliary An inflected verb that co-occurs with an uninflected main verb

v.c. Verbal complement Additional word or words found in phrasal verbs [???] v.i. Intransitive Verb A verb with no object v.n. Verbal Noun A noun formed directly from a verb to express a state of being [only

one type; what of agentives?] v.p. Verb phrase A phrase where a head-noun is joined to other words to form an

expression [head-noun or verb?] v.t. Transitive verb A verb with an object


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References Asomugha, C.N.C. ?. A pocket dictionary of selected Nigerian student slangs. ?? [referred to in the

following entry but not seen] Asomugha, C.N.C. 1981. Nigerian slangs. Onitsha: ABIC Publishers. Bamgbose, Ayo et al. (ed) New Englishes: a West African perspective. Africa World Press Burkill, H.M. 1985. The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa, Families A-D, Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens. Burkill, H.M. 1994. The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa, Families E-I, Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens. Burkill, H.M. 1995. The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa, Families J-L, Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens. Burkill, H.M. 1997. The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa, Families M-R, Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens. Burkill, H.M. 2000. The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa, Families S-Z, Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens. FMI 1964 [2nd ed.]. Some Nigerian woods. Lagos: Federal Ministry of Information. Igboanusi, H. 2002. A dictionary of Nigerian English usage. Ibadan: Enicrownfit Publishers. Jowitt, David 1991. Nigerian English usage: an introduction. Longman: Nigeria Kirby, J.P. 1998. A North American’s guide to Ghanaian English. Takoradi: TICCS. Kirk-Greene, A.H.M. 1965 The vocabulary and determinants of schoolboy slang in Northern Nigeria.

Occasional Paper no. 6. Zaria: ABU. Kropp Dakubu, M.E. ed. English in Ghana. Accra: Ghana English Studies Association. Odumuh, A. E. 1987. Nigerian English. Zaria: ABU Press. Opara, R. & P. Oleghe n.d. but 1956. Contemporary student vocabulary. Ibadan: no publisher. Sey, K.A. 1973. Ghanaian English. Ikeja: Macmillan Education Spencer, John (ed.) 1971. The English language in West Africa. London: Longman. Ukpabio, Mercy U. 1985 Students’ Language on Campus. Calabar: Dept of Languages and Linguistics,

University of Calabar undergraduate long essay.


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A. Abi? s.t. Sentence tag meaning ‘Don’t you

agree?’, Isn't that right? Corresponds to Hausa Ko?

about prep. just, about to I’m about leaving. I’m just leaving

abroad n. as in SE, but also refers to being away from home area We love ourselves abroad We have good relations with other people from our home area when away from it [quoted in Trager, 2001, Yoruba Hometowns]

abuna n. lit. Hausa ‘thing’ but often used jocularly for penis

abura n. timber tree Mitragyna stipulosa

abuse n. insult it is an abuse it is an insult GE

abuse v. to insult that boy abused him well-well the other man insulted him a great deal GE

acada n. academe, academic work, studies student slang

acha n. cereal, fonio, Digitaria exilis < Hausa. Only grown in the Middle Belt

achaba n. motor-cycle taxi < Hausa. Only in Northern towns. cf. okada

Act of God n. tin trunk painted in black and red SNE. Outdated expression used by schoolboys in the 1970s.

Actually! excl. exclamation of strong agreement State government has many people chopping money. Actually!

add v.i. to add s.t. to s.t. Add more! typically heard in a restaurant, when the diner wants more porridge or stew

adire n. traditional tie-dyed indigo cloth < Yoruba

Afara n. Trade-name for Terminalia superba also GE

African nutmeg n. tree sp. with edible nut Monodora myristica WAE.

African olive n. fruit of Canarium schweinfurthii which closely resembles the European olive

African salad n. any combination of green vegetables

African time n.p. jocular way of referring to the typically casual approach to punctuality characteristic of Nigeria not African time, please! Please be punctual! AE

after adv. later Some time after again s.t. intensifier We will go to the

market, again does not mean for a second time,

but simply intensifies the expression. I have no money again similarly. Jowitt (1991:154) compares to p.u.t.s in Hausa kuma, Igbo ozo and Yoruba mo.

agbada n. man’s long robe < Yoruba agree v.i. to want to, but also applied to

inanimate objects the kettle did not agree to boil

agric a. any crop or livestock variety introduced by the agricultural services. Sometimes also applied to implements. These agric beans do not taste well or He bought an agric plough

akamu n. porridge type with chewy lumps in it served in the morning in the North < Hausa Yoruba?

akara n. fried bean-cake <Yoruba. Now widespread in many languages. GE

alhaja n. technically any woman who has been on a pilgrimage to Mecca, but often used as a title of respect

alhaji p.n. technically any male who has been on a pilgrimage to Mecca, but often used as a title of respect, or as shorthand for a businessman of Northern aspect The alhajis have bought up all the petrol Used ironically to imply a class of crooked businessmen. GE

all what n.p. everything I believe all what you say GE

alligator n. crocodile Regularly used to distinguish the Dwarf crocodile Osteolaemus tetraspis from the Nile crocodile niloticus. (BBC news item 17.07.2002 reported a cargo of live Dwarf Crocodiles intercepted at Heathrow on their way from Nigeria to Japan, saying that they were falsely described as alligators.)

alligator pepper n. Malagueta pepper, Aframomum melegueta. A ground-fruiting plant with spicy seeds still widely used as a condiment but no longer exported to Europe. ‘Alligator’ for ‘Malagueta’ seems to be either a mishearing or a folk-etymology

almanac n. large coloured wall-poster usually showing photos of members of a club, association, football team etc. often with small calendar inserted pointing to its original function

altar n. rack for drying fish or keeping utensils, etc., in kitchen

amala n. black food made from yam-flour with ground yam skin incorporated < Yoruba


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ami(n)go n. white man Amigo! is shouted at foreigners in the southeast of Nigeria In Bonny in the form amíngo. Presumably connected with the Spanish presence in Equatorial Guinea or former trade by Spanish in the Bonny area.

among adv. implies ‘among the group previously referred to’ they are among they are among the group we are talking about

amount n. usually short for ‘amount of money’ but occasionally applied to other things previously referred to he gave me some amount he gave me some money

-an suff. ending to indicate the inhabitant of a particular state Kwaran, Bayelsan

and co. n.p. refers to set of matching cloths made for families, age-grades, associations etc. they are sewing and co. for the wedding

anini n. now long-disused coin, originally one-tenth of a penny, but symbolising something of very low value like the English farthing gained additional currency in the early 1990s due a notorious bank-robber [armed robber] nicknamed Lawrence Anini

answer v. to respond to a call or command, but not a question, to be named he answers Obi he is called Obi GE

anyhow s.t. placed at the end of a sentence to suggest ‘indiscriminately’ the children were playing in the garden, anyhow GE

anyway p.u.t. Placed before a sentence to tone down or mitigate the implications of a previous statement or question

Apollo n. eye-infection So named because it first appeared at the time of the Apollo 11 moonshot

applicant n. unemployed person who is supposed to be applying for jobs he is an applicant [unemployed school-leaver]

area-boy n. young man without a job who engages in criminal acts, usually in gangs in towns

arts n. usually commercial painting particularly trucks and signs art by Laranto Arts, Jos commonly seen on back of trucks

art-work n. work of art can be pluralised, i.e. art-works

aso-oke (1) n. heavy type of cloth The designers…spared no details with aso-oke [Ovation Issue 53:131, 2003] < Yoruba aso oke

aso-oke (2) n. practice of a family all wearing the same type fo cloth Husband

and wife were wearing aso oke < Yoruba aso oke

Aso rock p.n. inselberg adjoining Presidential villa in Abuja, hence a symbol of power and decision-making

assignment n. homework, student essays, projects etc. they give us too many assignments almost certainly borrowed from American English, perhaps in the era when the Peace Corps taught in secondary schools in the 1960s

at all s.t. Emphasises absence or negativity people were not enjoying, at all GE.

At all! excl. A common standalone response to a negative question or one expecting a negative answer. Is this man here? response At all!

attachment n. additional hair sewn on to owner’s hair, less subtle than weavon

August break n.p. dry spell in rainy season from late July to August SNE

aunty n. term of respect used by children [younger person] to address adult women has become very common since 1980s) Sim. uncle

automatically adv. as a matter of course now he is elected Governor, automatically he will chop money

ayo n. mancala, board game < Yoruba

B. baba n. any old man older than speaker,

term of respect also papa. widespread term for ‘father’ corresponding to mama for older woman

bacha n. temporary shed or building CE in Africa? [TE, also in Asia]

back v. to carry a baby on the back In America they don't back their babies as we do here

back v. to turn one's back on I just backed him and pretended not to see him

back, at my adv.p. behind He was standing at my back

bad bush n. place where people who die abnormal deaths are buried or thrown away SNE

bag n. originally a fifty-kilo jute bag but now commonly used for hundred Naira a bag of money = 100 pounds = 200 naira [I doubt if this is the bag originally referred to! I


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have thought (but not checked) it was a bag of cowries as an old standard size]

bag v.t. to get, especially position, degree or award Adamu has bagged the governorship, He has bagged an M.A. Archaic English sporting terminology. Also in Indian English.

balance n. change (for purchase) Give me my balance

balance v.t. to give change I will balance you fifty Naira I must give you fifty Naira change GE

balance v.i. standing or sitting complacently, apparently unconcerned about anything (used of a person, possibly also of an animal) See her just balancing there feeling cool about herself GE

Bambara nut n. Bambara groundnut, Vigna subterranea TE

bamboo n. midrib of palm frond. Also applied to bamboo proper, though this may be called ‘Indian bamboo’ to distinguish it.

bandy v.t. to bandy about I have no time to bandy with them

baobab n. baobab tree Adansonia digitata. TE

barb v.t. to cut s.o.’s hair She is barbing him Back-formation from barber

barbing salon n.p. hairdressing salon Viable small businesses … are mostly in such trades as hair dressing and barbing salons, tailoring shops as well as “pure water” packaging businesses. (Guardian 11.10.02 p. 22, col. 2)

bath n. any type of whole-body washing, most often with a bucket Have you taken your bath? GE

bath v.i. to wash the whole body by any method Do you want to bath? GE

bature n. white man shouted at foreigners in northern Nigeria. Also sometimes applied jocularly to albinos. <Hausa

be for v.p. to have, to possess this moto is for you this is your car

be with v.p. to have, to possess it is with him he has it GE.

beans n. cowpeas Vigna unguiculata

beat v.t. to strike, hit [but not necessarily violently], to fall [rain] If you do that again I am going to beat you. I’m going to beat you [but could be just a token blow] Take care or

rain will beat you GE. also used for rain, even when it is falling softly

bedsheet n. sheets I will put bedsheet for you I’ll put sheets on your bed GE.

been-to n. s.o. who has ‘been-to’ Europe or America this been-to is now a big man GE. perhaps now becoming archaic

Beetle p.n. Volkswagen car I get Beetle GE. Volkswagens were made in Nigeria and imported from Brazil long after they disappeared in Europe

beg v.i. to plead, beg, but used in more trivial contexts than in SE. Also in the sentence tag, I beg. Do not do this thing-o, I beg! GE.

Belgian a. good quality second-hand item also Belgium. < practice of importing second-hand cars and now other goods from Belgium

beniseed n. sesame, Sesamum indicum there are two species of beniseed, white and black. black beniseed is Sesamum radiatum. ? < ‘Benue seed’

bent-back n. hunchback big dowry wife n.p. wife married under the big

bride-price system This is a system typical of the Niger Delta, where on payment of a large brideprice the husband’s family has rights over his wife’s children.

bitterleaf n. mucilaginous leaf, used to make draw soup. We enjoy bitterleaf soup Vernonia amygdalina

black a. dark-skinned That boy is very black GE. N.B. The colour distinctions are very clear in relative context. For example, to say That black boy came to visit you will be clear to the speaker who is choosing one from a set of visitors, but may refer to a distinction invisible to outsiders. opp. fair

black Guarea n. trade name for Guarea thompsonii

blackout n. power-cut blindman n. blind man Blindman

can often be seen begging outside the mosque used as a category like ‘policeman’

blood tonic n. patent medicine of unknown composition, purporting to ‘strengthen’ blood and fight off disease < CE

bluff v.i. to swagger, show off That boy is just bluffing GE. (usu. of young men)

boa constrictor n. large python SNE


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Bomboy sal. form of address to plump and healthy [male] child Also used to refer to a child, e.g. How is Bomboy?]

born-again n. born-again Christian, a fundamentalist type of Christian who rejects all compromise with other religions. According to the predilections of the speaker this can be a simple description or extremely scornful. GE. N.B. can have a plural ‘born-agains’

borrow v.t. to lend Borrow me this money bottom a. worst But it’s the bottom men that

make the leader the worst men become leaders [Ovation Issue 53, 2003]

bottom power n. influence gained by a woman or homosexual through sexual favours

boy n. any male GE. boy n. house-servant GE. orig.

from Hindi bhai ‘servant’ but re-analysed as English ‘boy’, hence its counterpart ‘girl’ (q.v.)

boys’ quarters n.p. usually a row of small rooms behind a large house where house-servants or younger relatives live GE. Abbreviated to BQ

branch v.i. to turn aside, to divert to (when on the way to somewhere else) I am going to branch at his house GE.

bread n. one Naira give me ten bread! the fall in the value of the Naira has meant that this is now of limited use, but used for ‘money’ in general. It may always have been mainly student slang. prob. cognate with SE ‘bread’ for money.

breadfruit n. edible fruit TE. Artocarpus communis J.R. and G. Forst.

breadnut n. edible fruit TE. Artocarpus communis J.R. and G. Forst. Contrasts with breadfruit – no central stone

bring v.t. to turn back on [electricity] NEPA has brought light again GE.

bring v.t. to hand over [usu. money] Bring money! A common conclusion to a bargaining session.

brideprice n. payment by a man to the parents of his wife at marriage or before technical anthropological term, but also in common use in Nigeria TE.

brocade n. type of cloth q.v. guinea brocade

broken n. short for Broken English (q.v.)

Broken English n.p. pidgin English in contrast to ‘Queen’s English’ (q.v.)

brother n. actual brother or male of the same generation in an extended family. Applied by extension to those of a comparable status in ethnicity religion, politics etc.

brother dash me n.p. hand-me-down, clothes passed on from another generation of a family

buba n. loose blouse < Yoruba buka n. street restaurant < Hausa buketeria n. street restaurant

humorous extension of buka (q.v.) [Humorous blend of buka + cafeteria]

bullet n. small screwed-up piece of paper flung across an exam hall containing answers to questions st. sl., used in University of Port Harcourt but there may be alternative forms in other universities

bun n. any small soft cake burst out v.p. to come out onto

take this bush track and you will burst out onto the Onitsha road (esp. roads or rivers)

bush n. uncultivated land, usually open savanna AE. In originally forest areas, woodland

bush a. rustic, uncouth GE. bush-burning n. preparation of land for

farming by burning weeds/scrub TE bush-cat n. any wild felid

GE. bush-candle n. tree, Canarium

schweinfurthii so-called because the oil can be used in lamps. Colonial-era expression no longer in use

bush-cow n. buffalo, Syncerus caffer GE.

bush-dog n. civet-cat SNE only

bushfire n. uncontrolled savanna/bush burning in the dry season TE

bush greens n. any green vegetable used in soup that is gathered from the bush

bushman n. unsophisticated person He is a bushman! he doesn’t know city ways GE.

bush-lamp n. kerosene lantern In the rickety wooden huts of Tselekwu, kerosine bush lamps fight a losing battle to dispel some of the pervasive darkness. (Guardian 11.10.02, p.22, col. 1).

bush mango n. tree and its fruit much prized for use in soup Irvingia gabonensis [cf. ọgbọnọ`]


5

bushmeat n. any meat from a hunted animal GE. often served in special restaurants, and in bushmeat soup

bushmeat n. female visitor from the town, as opposed to the campus/hostels; considered less sophisticated than female students student slang

bush-pig n. wild pig, usually Sus but can apply to Phacochoerus or Potamochoerus porcus Red River Hog in SNE.

bush-taxi n. car or pickup that travels along back roads taking passengers

buttered a. with butter in, not spread on buttered bread common inscription on bread labels

butcher v.t. to cut up (any dead animal) He is butchering the fish

by a. exactly at (time) not ‘in the period up to’ He arrived by 2 p.m.

C. call card n. visiting card camp, to v.i. to hire a room in a hotel or

elsewhere and keep it for the purpose of entertaining male visitors for money through formal or informal prostitution

camp v.i. (usu. in passive) stay in a group in temporary simple accommodation while on a visit for a purpose We were camped in the student hostels while attending the NUGA games.

can v. to like [in relation to food] Can you eat that type of food? Do you like that type of food?

can v. to want to Can you take your bath now? i.e. do you want to take a bath now?

cane-rope n. rattan-palm or the fibre derived from it Calamus deeratus

canteen n. supermarket or large grocery store now archaic, as SE supermarket has replaced it, but a colonial-era expression. Borrowed into Hausa

card n. fish-drying rack this type of fish they put on card

carelessly adv. anyhow (but used with stative verbs) she was sitting there carelessly she was sitting there in an inappropriate position

case n. misunderstanding, big problem This thing is a big case now!

cash-madam n. large-scale woman trader, generally in the south this cash-madam is too tough this woman trader is a hard bargainer

catch v.t. to affect, to trap, to afflict sickness has caught me rather sickness don catch me Pidgin < usage in many African languages

Ceiba n. trade name for the kapok tree, Ceiba pentandra cf. silk-cotton

chaik v.i./t. to chat up or chase s.o. of the opposite sex; usually male to female he prefers chaiking to reading.

chance n. in the expression Give chance! i.e. Give me room! but also give me an opportunity to do s.t. < usage in many African languages

Chapman p.n. soft drink usually made mineral plus Ribina and fruit; similar to a non-alcoholic Sangria

charge to court v.p. to charge s.o. with an offence bring money, or I will charge you to court

chaser n. man who chases women Che! excl. Expression of surprise <

Igbo chei! check v.t. to see if s.o. or s.t. is present we

will go check him we’ll go and see if he’s in check well! said by traders urging you to look round their shop

chewing stick n. stick from various tree species, chewed to clean the mouth and teeth GE.

chief n. term of address; used to show respect or towards male friends

chicken-change n. insignificant amount of money, ‘peanuts’ these people only give chicken-change they only pay peanuts ? < ‘chicken-feed’

child dedication n. church ceremony followed by elaborate entertainment in churches which do not practise infant baptism, [often] replacing the traditional naming ceremony

chin-chin n. triangular fried cakes served at gatherings CE

chock v.t. to place stones or wood under the wheels of a vehicle to stop it rolling away < chock n. used for aircraft in SE

chook n. awl used by carvers GE chook v.t. to prick, to inject the thorn

has chooked me AE


6

choose v.t. to choose between two alternatives contrast with ‘select’

chop v.i. to eat can you chop rice? do you eat rice? CE

chop v.i. to embezzle (fig.) He has chopped too much money

chop n. food let us go for chop let us go and get some food CE

chop-bar n. small eating house ?<GE

chop-congo v.i. to have sexual intercourse I chop-congo today I had sex today St. sl.

Christmas bush n. bush whose leaves are used to treat wounds Alchornea cordifolia WAE.

civilisation n. shorthand for the colonial and post-colonial era since we had civilisation

class-mate n. s.o. in the same year at school or university as the speaker He is my class-mate means he was my classmate a relationship much more important in Nigeria than elsewhere

clean v.t. to erase clean off v.p. to wipe off, wipe away

Clean off that writing! clear v.i./t. to park off the road Clear the

car! = Park well! climb v.i. to get into climb that moto!

get into that car! cf. enter climb down v.p. to get out of, to get down

from climb down from that machine get off that motor-bike

close v.i. as in SE but applied to enterprises and machines, thus also ‘switch off’ they have closed the enterprise has reached closing time. close the fan shut off the fan GE.

co-wife n. wife married to the same husband co-wives always quarrel GE. =mate

coal-tar n. asphalt road Now we have reached the coal-tar again

coast n. urban areas He has gone to coast he has gone (from his home village) to work in the modern urban sector (common in the Delta) Originally coastal towns visited by European traders.

cocktail n. cocktail party You are invited to cocktail GE.

collect v.t. to pick up, to go and get Collect your loads GE.

colonial masters n.p. stereotyped expression for British officialdom in the colonial era Our colonial masters taught us this Used sneeringly by some speakers but as a purely decriptive term by others

colonial mentality n.p. pejorative expression implying readiness to accept inferior status He is showing colonial mentality

come v.i. to be returning soon I am coming (said by someone just leaving) GE. Only when used in the given expression, not in any other collocation

come down p.v.i. to get down from a vehicle I will come down here GE.

company a. describes s.o. who owns a number of companies he is a company man he is a man who owns a variety of businesses N.B. ‘company man’ is thus almost the inverse of its meaning in SE

complain n. complaint the community forwarded their complains to higher authorities

complete a. describes money and usually in the form ‘not complete’ your money is not complete the money is not enough

complete a. entire. Describes a period of time and precedes the noun the market burned for complete ten days

compound n. any ground of buildings surrounded by a notional or actual external perimeter CE. <? Malay kampong

conceive v.t. to impregnate He has conceived her

condemn v.i./t. to be worn out, useless, spoilt (of objects) the moto is condemned the car is no longer any good they have condemned it GE.

conducive a. good, appropriate, fit the place is not conducive

confusionist n. s.o. who brings about confusion he is just a confusionist

Congo meat n.p. meat of the giant African land snail

continental a. describes non-Nigerian food of vaguely European type GE. archaic BE

cook v.t. to heat on the fire, whether a solid or a liquid she is cooking the water She is boiling water GE.

copaiba balsam n. tree, Daniellia oliveri, formerly valued for its gum CE?


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copyright a. applied to a song performed by a popular entertainer previously made popular by another entertainer. Often said with slight scorn. That song is copyright.

corner-mate n. person who shares your corner of a room typically a room, especially in Lagos and in universities with accommodation problems, is divided into four corners and each corner can be shared by two people On the analogy of room-mate; also bed-mate in the same sense, not the SE one

Corper p.n. Member of the National Youth Service Corps

correct v.c. as in to be correct they are not correct they are not doing the right thing GE.

cotton n. as SE, but also cotton-wool and kapok from the silk-cotton tree

could remember v.p. for SE ‘can remember’ I could remember when we still had kobos.

cover-cloth n. long strip of cloth usually wrapped around the body when sleeping

cover-shoes n. ordinary shoes as opposed to sandals Do you never wear cover-shoes? [said to a persistent sandal-wearer]

cowitch n. stinging vine TE. Mucuna pruriens < Hindi kawach

cowleg n./a. common cut of beef, often made into soup cowleg soup GE.

cow-meat n. beef GE. cowpea n. bean, Vigna unguiculata

More written than spoke; cf. beans. TE. <Hindi kalpi

crayfish n. shrimp, prawns crispy a. concise just a short crispy message croaker n. sea-fish spp.

Pseudotolithus spp. WAE. very widely traded

crown n. king in draughts cross carpet v.p. to cross the floor

(politician) cry n. as in SE, but also to make a noise

(of objects) the thing was crying it was making a noise GE.

cultism n. practice of secret societies, especially in universities. Believed to be violent and based on traditional religion Soyinka seeks end to cultism in varsities (Guardian 15.7.05)

culture n. ceremony, cultural festival They do their cultures after the harvest

cunny a. tricky a cunny man a trickster < cunning?

cup n. any drinking receptacle, including glasses, mugs etc.

cushion chair n. armchair with cushions

customary court n. court where justice proceeds according to the traditions of a particular ethnic group Recognised by the Nigerian state for civil cases

customs bar n. commission charged on every puncheon of oil sold, deducted from the native trader's money and paid to the chief under whose auspices the supercargo had placed his ship for trading archaic, Niger Delta. cf. work-bar

cut v.i. to be broken, cut, snapped in two the wire has cut the wire is cut. GE.

cutlass n. machete, used for cutting vegetation TE. cf. matchet

cutleries n. pl. cutlery Advert: For hire: Chairs, canopies, cutleries, utensils

cutting-grass n. cane rat, Thryonomys swinderianus GE. also more commonly ‘grasscutter’. Throughout West Africa

D. damask n. damask For those who do

not know what damask looks like, it is an ornamented fabric with special pattern. It has a hard, paper-like texture, which softens after series of washings. …Back in the 60s, damask was used to sew iro and buba as well as danshiki. Today, it is being limited to ipele, gele and fila, probably because it is expensive. (Nigerian Tribune 25.06.02 p4). [Very similar to standard dictionary definitions; consult expert for differences. Perhaps simply that it is not commonly used in Standard English.]

dampy a. damp danfo n. van used for passenger transport

< Yoruba danshiki n. man’s loose, short gown

< Hausa dash v.t. to give s.o. s.t. for free Dash me

this thing! GE. dash n. s.t. given for free is this a

dash? GE. dead stone n.p. any stone that looks hard

but breaks easily he found to his surprise it


8

was dead stone calque from H. matace dutse

deadness n. complete silence at night that night, there was complete deadness

deadness n. impotence the deadness of his penis concerns him

deal on v.t. to deal in She deals on cloth

dealer on n.p. dealer in Dealer on electrical equipments

deep a. complex or pure form of a language He is speaking deep Nupe.

defile the air v.p. to fart Who is defiling the air? schoolboy euphemism

deleb palm n. fan-palm (q.v.) AE deliver v.i., v.t. to give birth my sister

has delivered my sister has given birth My wife has delivered a male child GE.

dey v.i. to be, to exist plenty dey there is plenty God dey Proverbial exclamation more pidgin than NE proper

die v.i. to cease functioning, to no longer work the moto has died GE.

dirts n. dirt sweep away these dirts discuss v.i. to discuss [mentioning no topic] We

discussed for a long time disting pron. for ‘This thing’ but used generically

for anything whose name has been forgotten tight the disting i.e. tighten the nut Pidgin

disturb v.t. to annoy, to irritate, but not disturb in the SE sense he is disturbing me too much GE.

disvirgin v.t. to deflower (a virgin) girls never forget the man who disvirgined them

do interj.? used as equivalent to ‘please’ by some old-fashioned speakers Do, allow me to close early

do v.a. used to emphasise present continuous periodic conflicts do occur

doctor n. any expert watch-doctor watch-repairer GE.

dodo n. masquerade or other spiritual entity performed by non-Muslims in the north they are doing dodo today <Hausa

dodo n. fried plantain, Musa paradisiaca < Yoruba

…doing n.p. happening. Either in the phrase anything doing or nothing doing Archaic SE ?

doll-baby n doll

double face n. two-facedness He is a man of double face

doum n. dum palm French spelling used widely in the far North

douse…on v.t. to pour on She took a gallon containing kerosene, doused some on the girl’s hands and laps and set her ablaze (Guardian 17.06.02 p.15)

down-wine n. wine tapped from a fallen or felled oil or raphia palm

dowry n. marriage-payment in either direction, thus = brideprice

draw a. mucilaginous We are enjoying draw soup typically in the expression ‘draw soup’, a sauce made from sticky vegetables such as okra and Jew’s mallow.

draw v.i. to form long mucilaginous strings (of sauce) This soup draws well GE.

dress n. any type of formal or elaborate clothing for either sex He is putting on his dress he is putting on formal clothes GE.

dress v.t. to decorate, embellish dressing of Danfo [Lagos sign]

dress up v.p. to dress ≠ to dress smartly

drink v.t. to ingest esp. medicine and including tablets etc. I have a terrible headache. I'm going to drink two Panadol and go to bed ? calque from Hausa sha magani

drive v.t. to chase away [often jocular] I came to visit you and now you are driving me! I won't come again.

driver n. as in SE, but also chauffeur GE.

drop (down) v.i. to get down from a vehicle we are dropping(down) here we are getting down here GE.

drop n. A. section of route regularly plied by taxi or bus with a standard fare from here to the junction is two drops GE.

B. hire of a taxi by a single customer/group Drop is how much?

dubbing n. copying in an exam with variations, contrast rank xerox

duck-fowl n. duck


9

E. earnestly adv. honestly ease oneself v.t. to urinate or defecate

GE. Presumably a polite form from the colonial or missionary era

eba n. staple food made from boiled cassava < Yoruba. Originally low status compared with yams and standing for cheap food, but nowadays many people’s preferred food

ebony n. timber from Diospyros spp. egusi n. melon, or its dried and crushed

seeds, used to make a popular sauce < Yoruba. Citrullus lanatus in NNE but more commonly Cucumeropsis mannii in SNE GE.

eko n. boiled food made from cassava <Yoruba

elders n. senior people in a community, usu. with connotation of authority WAE

elephant grass n. tall grass sp. Sorghum arundinaceum AE.

emaciate v.i. become emaciated No matter how much an elephant has emaciated, its thigh is still bigger than a hare (Tarok proverb 365)

enable v.t. to enable …to I humbly wish to apply for a loan to enable me buy a motor-cycle. GE.

ending n. month-ending engage v.t. to become engaged to That boy

has engaged Rose enjoy v.i. to be having a good time He

is enjoying he is having a good time GE. The West African usage seems to have preceded the Californian imperative Enjoy!

enlight v.i./t. to enlighten I enlighted him N.B. this has no religious connotation in Nigeria and is usually a way of saying ‘I told him’.

enlightenment n. knowledgeable, urban, civilised They have not yet had enlightenment

entire a. qualifies plural nouns the entire members all the members

envelope v.t. to put in an envelope Please envelope this letter for me.

equally adv. also equipments n. pl. equipment Advert:

Dealer on electrical equipments GE. ESCORT p.n. the number plate given to

cars that drive beside or behind a big man cf. PILOT

estacode n. allowance for civil servants when travelling overseas on official business

ever adv. never I ever went there I never went there

experiment v. experiment with He was trying to experiment a new credit scheme

extra a. extra (but precedes qualified term) extra twenty twenty extra GE.

F. factory n. building belonging to trading house

Constructed by the large coastal traders such as John Holt. They have fallen into disuse so the term is essentially historical

fail out p.v.i to fail so badly that one has to withdraw from a programme of study After six years, all students must either pass out or fail out

faithfuls n.pl. church members (collective noun pluralized) May not be in general use.

fall…down v.t. to make fall down the rain will fall it down the rain will knock down [the house]

fan palm n. palm sp. TE. Borassus aethiopium. Used for construction.

fanciful a. fancy I don’t like to drive fanciful car

fancy n. 1. fashionable clothes 2. decoration far a. remote far, far bush remote bush area

GE. Fare Well sal. common written form of

Farewell! farina n. dry food prepared from cassava

<Portuguese farm n. single field/ area of farmland of a

particular crop I have five farms I have five fields GE. Usually in the south of mixed crops harvested at particular times

farm v. to hoe, to cultivate fashion out v.p. to fashion He was

trying to fashion it out fathom n. two yards, a measure of cloth,

canoe, farmland, etc. (? confined to Niger Delta3). Also long fathom a measure of cloth.

3 From Williamson (ined.) I.zo. n dictionary. fathom

(square measure of cloth) short fathom (i.e. 72” x 32”) long fathom (i.e. 72” x 36”)


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fatting house, fatting room, fattening room n.p. Institution of the Niger Delta peoples and those eastwards along the coast. Room to which unmarried girls are sent, to be ‘fattened’ to make them more eligible for marriage. SNE

Federal character n. practice of ensuring that the staff in an office or ministry come from different areas so that no one ethnic group is seen to be dominant

feeding n. money for food when away what of my feeding? What money will I get to buy food?

fence v. to put any sort of wall, including brick and cement around s.t. GE.

fence n. any wall, including brick and cement around s.t.

fetish n. shrine, ritual object It is my fetish. WAE. also juju < Portuguese

finish v.i. to have run out What of orange? Orange has finished

flood n. season when river overflows into the bush (roughly August to October) Niger Delta region

flower n. any cultivated flowering garden plant or shrub

flower n. menstruation Archaic English origin, now ?Pidgin

flying-boat n. speedboat foam n. foam rubber mattress I will go to

the market to buy foam follow v.t. to accompany I will follow you to

market I’ll go with you to the market ‘to follow’ in SE sense is ‘go after’

follow v.t. to attend I need money to follow that course

follow v.t. to take a certain direction follow that road go that way

follow behind v.t. to go after, follow SE

followership n. state of being a follower If you have a good leader then followership is assured [Ovation, Issue 53:117, 2003]

food n. can be as SE, but most commonly applies to starchy staples let us go chop food let us go and eat a full meal. I need food, not snacks. We have food but no soup GE.

footing adv. by foot we must go footing. for prep. in, into put water for this cup for p. belonging to, by (can express parenthood)

She has two children for him. Also Is this thing for you?

forbid v.t. to put a taboo on All the members of our family forbid iguana

foreign n. foreign places They bring in sophisticated weapons from foreign

fowl n. chicken GE. arch. SE for the specific

fox n. jackal ME. in the Delta, genet

free girl n. prostitute also free woman

free life n.p. worthless life so-so free life he dey live

free speech n.p. speech made by guests at ceremony that is not on the programme

free woman n. prostitute also free girl

French suit n. man’s two-piece suit buttoning up to the neck arch.? 1960s/1970s

fuel n. petrol (and usually not other fuels) fuel shortages are common

fufu n. pounded yam or cassava GE. also foofoo

Fulani p.n. usual Nigerian name for the FulBe people, cattle pastoralists found throughout West Africa < Hausa. GE.

funeral home n.p. funeral parlour fura n. balls of guinea-corn with spice,

usually mixed with milk <Hausa. Food eaten mainly in the north

furnitures n. different types of furniture

G. gallop n. hole or bump in the road

This road has too many gallops gallon n. plastic container for liquid She

took a gallon containing kerosene, doused some on the girl’s hands and laps and set her ablaze (Guardian 17.06.02 p.15) GE. originally the 4-litre containers for oil, but now generalised to any plastic or other container in the shape of a jerry-can; cf. rubber

garage n. bus-station cf. motor-park

garden egg n. eggplant, brinjal, GE. Solanum incanum. Applies to local, bitter varieties, including inedible types.

gar(r)i n. dried, grated cassava WAE. Cassava is processed in this way to


11

eliminate the cyanide in bitter types. The name and technology were brought by the Portuguese from the New World

gas v.i. to fart he has gassed also defile the air, mess up

gas n. diesel fuel Gedu-nohor n. trade-name for

Entandrophragma angolense gele n. head-tie < Yoruba general weakness n.p. tiredness, bodyache

I am suffering from general weakness GE.

George [cloth] a. tie-dyed adire cloth with pattern representing George V, now somewhat unrecognisably

get v.t. to have he get plenty money he has a lot of money Pidgin also GE.

get accident v.p. to have an accident the moto got accident

Ghana-must-go n. fibre bag from Taiwan with zipper and tartan or other pattern used to transport goods < a period in the 1980s when Ghanaians were expelled from Nigeria and allegedly used these bags to transport their goods back home

giant rat n. wild rat, Cricetomys, widely sold in markets and by the roadside CE, not widely used. Often called rabbit in SNE

girl n. house-girl formed by analogy with ‘boy’

gist n. news, more especially gossip I have plenty of gist for you today.

gist v. to tell someone the news or the gossip I will come and gist you this afternoon. She gisted me fully More generally, v.i. gossip, talk informally: We were gisting till midnight Originally student slang, but now used more widely

give v.t. to share a story with s.o. Veronica gave us an experience

give v.t. to make available they don’t want to give us light they are organised enough to keep the electricity on

give out v.p. to give away she is giving out oranges More general than SE

giwan ruwa n. Nile perch (Lates niloticus) < Hausa ‘elephant of the water’

glass n. window, esp. car-window Roll down the glass!

globe n. light-bulb the globe has quenched

go about v.i. to go about locally more than is considered proper that woman is always going about (the implication is that this is inappropriate behaviour)

go to hell v.p. long hooked stick for getting down fruits such as mangoes Middle Belt. Presumably from the resemblance to the hooked sticks used by devils to drag down sinners.

go up and down p.v. to roam about see that pig going up and down

go-slow n. traffic jam esp. in Lagos they were caught in the go-slow

goatery n. place where goats are kept

godfather n. person in position of influence able to assist you Luckily, I have a godfather on the university admissions council.

going n. motor-cycle taxi I must get a going Middle Belt. A calque from Hausa achaba (q.v.)

gongoro lorry n. Mercedes 911 truck with locally built-up sides, usually decorated < Hausa gongoro

good a. full, complete [follows qualifying numbers] I spent six good years in Kano < SE ‘a good six years’

gorilla n. chimpanzee Pan troglodytes. Few Nigerians have ever seen either animal so their characteristics are somewhat vague. Actual gorillas exist in small numbers along the Nigeria/Cameroun borderland.

goro n. cola, used in the same way to mean, tip, bribe, entitlement < H.

got v.a. has become the beer got finished the beer has run out GE.

Grammar p.n. Standard English

grasscutter n. cane rat, Thryonomys swinderianus also ‘cutting-grass’. WAE. More often printed than spoken

grasseater n. fish sp. ? calque from Hausa ci haki

greet v.i./t. to greet (which is a much elaborate and formulaic process in Nigeria) it is correct to greet greeting is appropriate behaviour. She greeted him implying a formal, social process GE.

grind v.i. to grind s.t., to have s.t. ground I sent my baby out to grind I sent my daughter out to get it ground


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groundnut n. peanut She is selling groundnut TE. Arachis hypogaea. N.B. The singular is often used where SE would use plural. Groundnut is a pan-African Anglophone usage and is probably a calque of French pois de terre, or German Erdnuss.

grub v.i. to eat students’ slang guber a. gubernatorial (i.e. referring to the

election of State governors) Borno in guber race (Newspaper headline)

guidiance n. guidance We pray for your guidiance and protection, oh Lord

guinea brocade n. type of cloth q.v. brocade

guinea-corn n. sorghum WAE. Sorghum bicolor

guest hotel n. hotel with accommodation cf. hotel

guest inn n. hotel with accommodation cf. hotel, lodge

gunner n. gunsmith, gun-supplier noticeboard sign / SE ‘gunner’

guy n. fashionable boy or young man <American English

guy name n. nickname GE.

guyish a. describes s.o. behaving like a guy (q.v.) His behaviour is guyish

H. Haba! excl. Expression of surprise or

amazement < Hausa and heard mainly in the North. GE. N.B. Habahaba! was a common expression of joking amazement in the US in the 1940s. Related?

had to aux. it was likely that…would When the war broke out many people had to die

hair-packer n. small elastic band with beads attached, used to adorn a hair style

hairy a. with plenty of hair (but with a positive implication) she is a hairy girl she has lots of hair

handset n. mobile phone hand-work n. anything produced by hand,

including both crafts and physical labour It is a hand-work Presumably from SE ‘handiwork’

hanging part. state of hanging from the back of a passenger vehicle The policeman demanded N200 “fine” as punishment for the

offence of the conductor, who was hanging on the vehicle’s door [The driver] said: “One of the policemen demanded N200 from me alleging that my driver was hanging”. (Guardian 17.06.02 p. 2) GE.

harlot n. prostitute The harlots are dancing N.B. not considered archaic in Nigerian English

harmattan n. season of dry winds and dust, usually December-February WAE. < ? but prob. via Francophone region

haste adv.c. in the expression in a haste

Have it! excl. Usually in the context of shopping, a shopkeeper will say ‘Have it!’ meaning ‘Take it!’

head n. as in SE, but also state of mind, mental state as in Californian English Your head is not correct You're mad (abusively rather than medically) but also ‘You are seriously confused’ (about some specific matter)

head-load n. amount that can be carried on the head CE

head-pad n. quoin, circular cloth or fibre pad, to protect the head when carrying a basin or similar GE.

head-pan n. large enamel basin commonly used to carry loads GE.

head-tie n. kerchief tied around the head GE.

hear v.t. to understand a language I hear Yoruba

hear v.t. to sense, smell I hear the food on fire

heavy a. pregnant My wife is heavy

heed to v.t to heed The students refused to heed to their pleas. [Senate minutes] (on the analogy of listen to)

hell of n.p. plenty of They were making hell of noise GE. < hell of a lot of

hemp n. marijuana, dope archaic SE. also Indian hemp

hence conj. since, because Hence we are going to market, we’ll buy oranges In SE, 'hence' means 'therefore', 'thus', 'consequently', 'it follows that': it marks the conclusions of arguments. In NE it means 'since' or 'because', marking the premises.

herbalist n. traditional doctor who treats patients, in principle with plant remedies, but


13

also other types of socially approved magical remedies GE.

high(-)life n. musical style now rather outmoded Probably of Ghanaian origin. (1950s and 1960s)

highly welcome excl.p. very welcome You are highly welcome!

hint v.t. to give a hint to s.o. he hinted me that he would go hinted to me … GE.

hit v.t. to have sex with a woman he hit her in the palour

hold v.t. to stand guard over, to be in place We are holding the road so that no-one may disturb you

hold v.i. take place, be held The meeting will hold at 4 o’clock arch. SE

hold v.i. to stay in place Although I patched my bicycle it did not hold

holy a. describes one who is neat and clean student slang

home n. place where some activity is carried out barbing home hairdressing salon maternity home clinic for women to give birth funeral home funeral parlour

home people n.p. extended family in your home area How are your home people?

hometown n. association of expatriates from a particular area or tribe, formed to promote development in their area of origin

hook v.i. to have made a woman pregnant he sexed her and it has hooked he had sex with her and now she is pregnant

hook v.t. to feel (as a pain) The pain hooks me there

hook (s.o.) v.t. to be arm-in-arm with someone

horn v.t. to blow the horn on a car horn him!

hospitality committee n. group formed to meet with incoming Fulani pastoralists and inform them of local grazing access rights Northeast Nigeria only

hot n. short for ‘hot drink’, i.e. spirits beer and hots for sale [Notice on shopfront] GE

hot a. alcoholic any hot drink for me, sah? (often said by policemen at road-blocks)

hotel n. commonly applied to bars and drinking places that serve food but may have no lodging ‘hotel’ in the SE sense is ‘guest hotel’. Modern usage is gradually

replacing this so that NE is coming to conform to SE.

house-rent n. rent the landlord has increased the house-rent

How far? int. lit. how far are you going? How far have you succeeded (in the matter we discussed previously)? Taken as an invitation to ride with the speaker who would normally be in a vehicle. Also used when you cross paths with s.o. and want to know how far they have come.

How now? sal. How are you? I. ibeji n. carved figures representing twins

made when one twin has died < Yoruba

ibonise v.t. to turn a foreign word into an Igbo form

ice-block n. ice-cube Bring ice-block for this mineral Sometimes just ‘block’ in context.

idol n. any object used in traditional religion, such as masks and carved figures ME

if not conj. if it were not for.. if not this haze, you would see the fadama clearly

Igboman p.n. Igbo person N.B. In principle, the suffix –man can be applied to any ethnic group, but in fact Igboman is the most common collocation.

iguana n. Nile Monitor Lizard Varanus niloticus ME.

ijebu n. fraud, counterfeit object, fake < Yoruba

ikebe n. buttocks, but by extension also padding placed inside dress to enlarge the buttocks < Yoruba

ill-lucks n. misfortunes illegal bunkering n.p. the practice of removing petroleum products from oil pipelines and well-heads, without authorization from either oil companies or the government. It is widely thought to involve large-scale smuggling operations that use road tankers, barges and large ships offshore. impressionario n. impressario

Portmanteau form ‘impressario’ + ‘impression’

in front adv. ahead The house is still in front [does not mean in front of us]


14

in soup v.c. in trouble < English ‘in the soup’

in time adv. quickly, not within a specified period I hope he comes in time

Indian spinach n. small herb used for sauces Basella alba

indigenes n. inhabitants (of a particular administrative unit or region) We are indigenes of this state.

indigenous a. local, native Indigenous dishes are available (Abuja Tourist Guide)

information n. used without article I received an information.

ingredients n. spices etc. used to make soup Are you going for ingredients? GE.

interest to v.p. to have an interest to Consequent upon the death of my sponsor, none of my relations indicated interest to sponsor my schooling activities. (Student appeal letter)

iroko n. tree sp. used for carving WAE. Milicia excelsa

iron-bender n. skilled worker in the building trade who bends and cuts iron rods to the required size

ironwood n. duramen, i.e. the hard central wood of certain trees TE ?

issue n. children, progeny He has many issues Not archaic in NE. Can form plural. Extension of legal term?

J. jam v.t. to collide, to bump against, to hit

the moto jammed me the car ran into me. He jammed her he bumped into her

JAMB n. pronounced jam Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (?) University entrance exam I want to do jam.

jerry-curl n. hairdressing style GE. < American English

join v.t. to get on board transport Where will you join taxi?

joke n. to have a formalised joking relationship with We Tarok joke with the Chamba people

jollof rice n. rice cooked with tomatoes and spices, served with chunks of meat at parties GE. jollof = Wolof as the dish is purportedly from Senegal

jubilate v.i. to rejoice Because of the Buna festival, people were jubilating

juju n. anything to do with traditional religion he has practised juju on her he has put a spell on her. It is a juju it is to do with traditional religion ME.

juju n. Yoruba urban music type GE.

just sitting down n.p. staying on one place [has no connotation of actually sitting] there we were, just sitting down, nothing doing

K. K-legs n. knock-kneed to have K-legs be

knock-kneed kabukabu n. private car operating as an

unlicensed taxi Danfos, yellow taxis and the unpainted, moonlighting kabukabus tend these days to be tokunbos, used vehicles imported mostly from Belgium (NI 343:20.col.2)

kaikai n. local gin cf. ogogoro. GE

kanda n. skin (usually of cow or goat?) cooked and eaten as a delicacy in pepper soup, etc.

Kano cloth n. cloth woven in narrow strips on traditional looms. Woven in many places in the North, not just in Kano. SNE.

keep v.i. to stay I kept three days in Kaduna. Don’t keep late!

keep v.t. to put (on) keep it there on the table

kero(sene) n. paraffin < American English

kiakia n. type of minibus introduced about 1950s ?now obsolescent < Yoruba ‘quickly’

kick starter n. starter motor of cars as well as motor-bikes Open the kick starter! Start the engine!

king fern n. fern sp. ground up and rubbed on for swelling Nephrolepis biserrata SNE.

king worm n. blind wormsnake, amphisbaenid Typhlops sp. SNE

kiss v.t. to hit another car gently his moto kissed me his car touched mine Don’t kiss me (often painted on back of commercial vehicles)

knicker n. in the expression short knicker (q.v.)


15

know how to v.p. corresponds to SE Do you? or Can you? Do you know how to eat our food? Can you eat [Nigerian] food? GE.

kobo n. one-hundredth of a Naira effectively went into disuse through inflation in about the early 1990s

kola n. 1. nut from Cola acuminata and C. nitida, presented and shared formally in ceremonies in many areas TE. Also cola.

2. entertainment, hence bribe, small present Where is my cola?

kose n. fried bean-cake <Hausa =akara

kuka n. dried powder of baobab leaves used to make draw soup < Hausa

kulikuli n. dried snacks made from shaped residue after the oil has been expelled from groundnuts < Hausa

kunnu n. drink made from cereal flour, sugar and ginger, sold in the North, but increasingly also known in southern urban areas < Hausa

L. lace n. cloth in the style broderie Anglaise,

with many gaps. Imported from Austria and prestigous because expensive they are wearing lace

langalanga n. curved piece of iron used to swipe at grass and knock it down GE. an extraordinarily ineffective tool, often used by schoolchildren NNE

lap(s) n. thigh(s), lap Chicken laps for sale. [notice] //She put the baby on her laps. // The deceased was seated at the back of the vehicle carrying a fellow student on her laps (Guardian 17.06.02 p. 2) She took a gallon containing kerosene, doused some on the girl’s hands and laps and set her ablaze (Guardian 17.06.02 p.15) GE.

last a. as in English but in temporal expressions it follows the noun Sunday last, I went to Kaduna

last a. final, referring to price of goods What is your last price? The price is hundred Naira, last.

late a. dead, of people [but used without ‘the’ and more informally than in SE] late Chuks gave me this book can be intensified.

Thus The very late Emir of Gwandu i.e. one who died forty years ago.

lately adv. late He came lately launching n. Nigerian ceremony to

introduce a new publication, society or institution where money is raised through public pledges They are having a launching for the book GE.

lean a. thin, but with implication that leanness is caused by troubles GE. Being thin does not have a positive cultural value in West Africa

leather [leda] a./n. plastic [bag] put it in a leather [bag]

leave v.t. to leave off, to stop He should leave chasing girls

left-hand drive n.p. hair-style where the hair is plaited into cornrows on the left of the head s.t. also ‘right-hand drive’

leg n. leg, but also ‘ankle’, ’foot’ Wipe your leg on the door-mat, please! or My leg is paining me too much I have twisted my ankle Adapted from African languages where leg often stands for other parts of the lower body. Parallel usages of hand to include arm

leg, to have long v.p. to be influential, to have connections

lend out v.p. to lend lick (soup) v.t. eat “soup” While

eating with me, you are licking the soup, but I am eating the porridge [Tarok proverb 425].

lift v.t. to give a lift to Will you lift me to Oshodi?

light n. electricity They have taken the light the power has gone off GE.

light food n. food that comes in separated grains or pieces applies to rice, macaroni etc. Contrast with ‘solid food’.

list out v.t. to list I cannot fully list out all its various uses.

load n. bundle, pack, head-load, luggage Collect your loads N.B. can also have a plural, loads

lobster n. large shrimp (Macrobrachium vollenhovenii) Nigeria has only shrimps, no true crayfish or lobsters

local a. provincial, unsophisticated he is a local man!

local Maggi n. flat cakes made from the fermented seeds of the locust tree (q.v.) and used as a soup condiment <Maggi, a commercial stock cube sold widely in West Africa


16

locust n. locust-bean tree Parkia biglobosa. N.B. locust as an insect is usually ‘cricket’

lodge n. hotel cf. ‘guest inn’ Lolagbola p.n. trade-name for timber from

the tree Oxystigma oxyphyllum lonely a. lonely, also alone If we go,

she will be lonely in the house. If we go, she will be left on her own in the house. The two meanings may well merge in African culture.

long-leg n. influence, personal connection with s.o. in power He gained his position through long-leg <Vernacular e.g. Hausa dogon kafa

loose v.i./t. to be loose, to come loose, to untie The thing has loosed. it has become loose. Loose it untie it.

loss v.c. to be lost, as in don loss or get loss The thing has got loss. it has got lost Pidgin

lost n. loss lost of thousands of Naira GE

Lugard a. old-fashioned This your shoe is Lugard

luggages n.pl. as SE but pluralised Luggages carried at owner’s risk. [Notice]

luxury bus n. large coach as opposed to bus, usually applied to small vans also luxurious bus

M. M & B n. all types of medicines lit.

acronym for May & Baker, formerly a manufacturer of common pharmaceutical products

ma n. Term of respect used to address an older woman Ma, I don’t know how to do this.

machine n. motor-bike GE.

machine boy n.p. motor-bike taxi driver see Okada

maclean n. any toothpaste < Brand name

madam n. generic respectful term for older woman I have been hearing of this madam GE.

maggi n. any commercially made stock-cube < Maggi brand name

mahogany n. tree sp. Khaya senegalensis

majority n.p. used without article They are majority GE.

make v.t. to do [hair] she has gone to salon to make her hair

make accident v.p. to have an accident The moto has made accident

Makossa p.n. rhythmic dance music popular in Nigeria of putative Congolese origin

mallam n. technically, learned Islamic scholar but often a title of respect for any putatively learned person, also humorous Mallam! What is the day? Generalized to any male dressing in Islamic style; also title = Mr. for a Muslim GE.

mamba n. lead bars or ingots used to make shot for cannons Niger Delta area. archaic

Mami-Wata p.n. Goddess -the subject of a widespread cult in the Niger Delta area GE. Represented as a mermaid, with snaky hair and believed to be responsible for pulling fishermen to their deaths, although also courted to enrich people

mammy n. woman, usually applied to mature women who run market-stalls

mammy market n. market attached to barracks where products for soldiers are sold, such as dogmeat

mammy-wagon n. lorry converted to carry passengers on seats facing backwards arch. as replaced by other types

manage v.i. to be surviving We are managing GE.

manage v.t. to make do, to put up with He begged me to manage him in the one room He asked me to put up with him staying in the same room The car developed problem, but I managed it to Onitsha

market woman n.p. woman who regularly sells in the market, trader

match v.i./t. to tread on, to trample on Match on it trample on it Confusion with mash? to mash palm-oil

matchet n. machete, used for cutting vegetation cf. cutlass

matchstick n. match GE. mate n. co-wife SNE maternity n. maternity clinic mbeke n. white man shouted at

foreigners in the south-central regions of Nigeria. In Port Harcourt area it is bekee


17

meat n. as in SE, but also a small piece of meat served with soups, sold by the individual chunk add one meat! put one more chunk of meat in the stew

medicine n. conventional SE sense but also extended to a wide variety of chemicals, particularly agricultural insect medicine pesticide GE.

extended to mean charm or poison

mediocre n. mediocre person can be pluralised. Falling out of use.

meek a. timid [but applied to mind] The stock market is not for meek minds [Ovation, Issue 53:159, 2003]

meet v.t. to encounter, but used for objects and situations I met your absence GE.

mense v.i. to menstruate she has stopped mensing

mess, make a v.p. to cast in an inferior light my wife’s meals will always make a mess of any food I eat outside [Ovation, Issue 53:196, 2003]

mess (up) v.i. to fart < pidgin mess up with v.p. to socialise with in a

disapproved way The Hausa boys were messing up with Christian girls

microchip n. tiny piece of paper with useful information concealed on the body in an exam st.sl.

Middle Belt p.n. region of Nigeria between ethnic block of the Yoruba and Igbo in the south and the Hausa in the north. Roughly from south of Kaduna to north of Ilorin

mighty a. large, powerful, overbearing it is very mighty archaic in SE but current in NE and GE

mind v.t. usu. in the expression Don’t mind.. + pron. meaning Don’t pay any attention to..

mind v.t. want, like would you mind some biscuits? Would you like some biscuits? Has no negative implication

mineral n. soft drink GE mise v.i. to be miserly I have to mise my

money I must mind my money carefully back-formation from ‘miser’

miss, to v.t. to not have, to have lost she missed her husband her husband is no longer around (dead, divorced etc.)

missing, to get v.c. lost, vanished Sah, the key got missing

moinmoin n. cake made of boiled Bambara groundnuts, commonly sold in markets

molue n. bus used for urban transport The choicest curses of the molue drivers are reserved for those in private cars – in the lingo of the road battles, the ‘slaves’ and ‘bastards’ who are drivers to the car-owning class (NI 343:21.col.1) < Yoruba see Bamgbose’s etymology

money n. as in SE but also ‘cost’ Your money is.. It costs…

money-minded a. obsessed with obtaining money (≠stingy) Girls are money-minded. [Onitsha Market pamphlet]

monkey n. As in SE; also derogatory, insulting of a person Who is that monkey?

monthend adv. at the end of the month, when salaries are paid I go pay you monthend I’ll pay you at the end of the month

Mopol p.n. Mobile Police, an extremely aggressive force brought out in times of civil emergency nickname is ‘Kill and Go’

moreso conj. especially The Dean, Student Affairs, pleaded that Senate should tread softly on the matter, moreso, as the affected students were not allowed to contest the election. (Senate minutes) Acknowledging our past and its lessons are more beneficial than denying it, moreso, when we use the lessons learnt to shape our past and future (Vobnu, Ogoni, p. viii) Moreso, when a nation or people loses her language, their culture and identity are lost (Vobnu, Ogoni, p. 2) GE.

moto n. car <E. motor. GE. motor-park n. garage for commercial

vehicles, bus station garage in this sense is also NE

move with v.p. to accompany on a regular basis, usually implying friendship he moves with me we always go about together GE.

Mr. Hare p.n. common protagonist of folk-tales in the north GE. = (Mr) Tortoise in the south

Mr. Man sal. Way of addressing s.o. unknown to you joc. Disappearing?

mud v. to slap dollops of mud on a house either in building or sealing cracks They are mudding that person’s house

murtala n. Twenty Naira banknote from the portrait of Gen. Murtala Mohammed who appears on the note


18

N. nama n. zebu cow <Hausa Native Authority p.n. adminstrations

established in the colonial era as part of the system of Indirect Rule

naming ceremony n.p. Ceremony rather similar to baptism of Islamic origin? Now normally replaced by child dedication in the South

native court n. courts established in the colonial era to try cases according to customary law

native cow n. small local cow as opposed to the Fulani zebu

native doctor n. practitioner of traditional medicine, cf. herbalist GE.

native law n.p. customary law of a particular ethnic group, applied in customary courts (q.v.) they tried him according to native law GE. this sounds rather archaic in SE but is current in NE

native potash n. potash obtained from burnt plantain peelings and stumps of palm bunches

neck-deep a. in deeply She was neck-deep in relations with Mr. A. ? for SE ‘knee-deep’

neighbourly a. neighbouring Fulani from neighbourly state of Borno

NEPA p.n. the national power company, often used for electricity in general NEPA has gone off there’s no electricity <Nigerian Electric Power Agency

net v.t. to capture The police netted him

never part. don’t Never you be envious of that which belongs to another!

news n. item of news there is a news that…

next tomorrow adv. the day after tomorrow

Ngbati a. Yoruba it is disheartening that the Ngbati press must do everything (The News, 20:9, 3/2/03)

Nigerian factor n. general explanation invoked whenever a well-designed plan does not work out as expected

night-fighter n. prostitute nko s.t. indefinite generalizing tag

Suppose they sell the land and then something comes up nko, what happens then?

no more a. any longer there was no more love between the couple the couple didn’t love each other any longer

non-challance/non-challant n., a. nonchalance, nonchalant Common written error

not more adv. no longer he was not more coming to that place

not quite adv.p. a little, not much I was sitting not quite far from you I was sitting near you

not quite long adv.p. for only a short time He had been doing this for not quite long, when..

not reach v.i. to be inadequate, to be not enough the money did not reach GE.

novel n. reading matter of almost any type except the Bible and newspapers

now now adv. immediately, at once Do it now now!

number six n. brain Use your number six! student slang?

nyash n. genitals ?buttocks < ? Portuguese

nylon [lilo] a. plastic (usually bag) has begun to replace ‘leather’ in this context In the Port Harcourt area, nylon now largely replaced by waterproof in the sense of plastic bag

O. oo s.t. tag placed at the end of sentences, to soften

the statement or give it slight emphasis I think I would do it, oo! Go register now, oo [ID Card poster, March 2003]

òóò p.u.t. tag placed at the beginning of sentences, following the assertion of a previous speaker indicating negative consequences They promised to pay on Tuesday. Ooo! Last month they were a week late

oak-tree n. tree with strong wood, often used for canoes SNE. (Panda oleosa Pierre PANDACEAE)

oba n. < Yoruba. Other status titles are commonly used in the appropriate part of the country: amanyanabo (Eastern Ijo) etc.

Obeche n. trade-name for the tree Triplochiton schleroxylon

Obong p.n. Traditional ruler of Efik/Ibibio peoples < Efik/Ibibio


19

off v.t. to turn off, to switch off off the light!

offsprings n. offspring My offsprings are many

off head adv. something you know without referring to a book, by heart I know this off head < SE ‘off the top of my head’

office pin n. pin GE. often and often adv. very often Oga n. master, boss term of respect

often used partly ironically. How now, Oga? < Yoruba

ogbanje n. child that continually reincarnates and dies to torment the parents <Igbo = repeater= abiku <Yoruba

ogling a. qualifies a noun girls parading their flesh in front of ogling men (Thisday 6.12.02)

ogogoro n. locally-distilled alcohol < Yoruba?

okada n. motor-bike taxi the okadas are many <Okada, a former airline with a somewhat unfortunate safety record

okpokoro n. dried, salted cod, imported from Scandinavia, now an expensive delicacy cf. also stockfish

okrika n. secondhand/used clothing

Omo™ n. any soap powder GE. Omo is now discontinued in Europe but those with longer memories will know that it washes whiter

on v.t. to turn on, to switch on on the light! They onned the generator.

on n.c. replaces ‘in’ in nominal phrases e.g. dealer on as in He is a dealer on electrical goods the default preposition in NE

on v. to have on if road safety stops you, you must be on seat-belt i.e you must be wearing your seat-belt

on admission adv.c. describes being admitted to hospital I am on admission

on break adv.c. describes taking a break We are on break

on fire adv.c. to be cooking the food is on fire ≠ SE ‘burning’

on seat adv.c. the expression to be on seat. is to be present in the office He is on seat

on transfer adv.c. either being or already transferred My brother is on transfer

one-one adv. one-by-one, singly he gave out the oranges one-one. Make two-two copies can be applied to any number, two-two, three-three etc.

operate v.t. to operate on, be operated on they will operate him tomorrow

opportune to p.v. to have the opportunity to He was not opportune to go to Jos He didn’t have a chance to go to Jos

original a. authentic original one not a fake [applied to anything manufactured: motor parts, electrical appliances etc.] original village man really coming from the village [but implying down-to-earth, not citified]

osomaalo n. originally a name for an Ijesa Yoruba trade association but now a general term of an Ijesa person Osomaalos made money, built houses but they can’t pool resources [quoted in Trager, 2001, Yoruba Hometowns, p. 62]

other a. as in SE but used with reference to both entities being discussed.

other time, the n. some time ago, on the last occasion when.. He said he met you the other time, and..

outing [ceremony] n.p. ceremony after the funeral when the family puts on bright clothes and goes to church together.

outrightly adv. completely They outrightly objected to it

overflood v.i. to flood, to burst banks, to gush out the river is overflooding GE.

overhurling n. overhauling common error in signboards

overspeed v.i. to go too fast Do not overspeed! GE.

oyibo n. white man oyibos get money white people are rich Oyibo! is shouted at foreigners in central and southwest Nigeria Since the civil war it has largely replaced older terms such as bekee and onye ocha in eastern Nigeria

P. pack v.i./t. to put away, to remove, to steal

they packed it they stole it packing of water throwing out the water from a pond to catch the fish

pack v.t. to put inside, to tie up, to confine she has packed her hair she has tied it up in a bun or ponytail. Those trousers pack your buttocks very well

pack v.t. to park please pack your car well common error on signboards


20

pack in p.v. to move in they have packed in

pack (out) p.v. to pack up and leave the landlord warned him to pack out

pack v.t. to carry away See where they are packing the sand from the riverbed

packer n. dustpan palaver n. discussion, trouble, matter

woman palaver GE. often used jocularly and in humorous versions of W. African speech. < Portuguese palabra

pain v.t. to be painful This my leg pains me too much my leg is very painful it pains you, why? [common slogan on trucks] GE.

palm-wine n. sap tapped from the terminal bud of various palms, which ferments and is used as a drink TE.

pami n. palm-wine pant n. women’s knickers she tore her

pant GE. Panya p.n. Fernando Po < España parable n. proverb < ? from

early missionaries trying to explain parables as symbolic language.

parlour/palour n. applied both to beer-drinking places and to the sitting-room in a house. Beer palour or Let us go sit in the palour The spelling palour is common on notices. Despite the spelling, always pronounced palə

parlour party n.p. party held in the front room of the house

parry away p.v. to fend off Farmers try to parry away the Fulani from their fields

particulars n. car papers Show me your particulars! a common demand by police at road-blocks GE.

pass c.a. to exceed, to surpass he get money pass that man <Pidgin. GE.

pass v.i. to turn aside, to bend go straight then pass right GE.

pass all v.p. best watch doctor pass all <Pidgin. GE.

pass away v.p. to pass the time over a period a novel would help me pass away the weekend

passport n. passport photo Bring me one passport

patch v.t. to repair a puncture I will go to the vulcaniser to patch it

pear n. 1. avocado pear 2. fruit of indigenous tree

Pachylobus edulis. SNE

pepper n. chilli TE. Capsicum annuum (≠ European pepper)

people n. usu. in the expression How are your people? meaning extended family

pepper-fruit n. fruit sp. chewed as a snack Dennetia tripetala

pepper soup n. type of consommé soup made with meat or fish and containing chilli pepper but no oil

peprish a. peppery the soup is somehow peprish for ‘pepperish’

periwinkle n. small, black-shelled shellfish, extremely popular as food along the coast. Tympanotonus fuscatus. ≠ British periwinkle.

personnel n. as in SE but used as a singular her friend was a personnel at Kingsway

petty petty a. small, trifling, unimportant Why do you give me such petty petty things? GE.

Phar. n. pharmacist, abbreviation used on calling cards etc.

pick (1) v.t. to get (usually a vehicle) He picked a taxi to Lagos GE.

pick (2) v.t. to pick up (phone) Will you not pick it?

piece n. measure of cloth GE.

piece of cake n.p. share of something they are always asking for their piece of cake ≠ SE ‘piece of cake’ for easy to do

PILOT p.n. the number plate given to cars that drive in front of a big man cf. ESCORT

pin v.t. to fix (stick) in ground Pin that stick here

pito n. local beer brewed from sorghum, millet etc. NNE <Hausa. GE.

place n. place of origin, either town, country or region where is your place? i.e. where do you come from?

plate-number n. number-plate play n. dance or masquerade it is a play

it is a masquerade or dance play v.i. to play as in SE, but also to perform

dance or masquerade they are playing a dodo they are performing a masquerade They are playing masquerade today

play v.t. to caress sexually, make love They are playing love


21

play v.i. to forage about (animals) They just allow the chickens to be playing in the house anyhow

playground n. place in a village where dances, masquerades, meetings etc. are held has no association with children

playmates n. two people in a joking relationship they are playmates GE. this implies they can abuse each other, sometimes violently, without offence being taken. Sometimes this relationship also exist between households, clans or even tribes

please s.t. inserted in various positions in a sentence to express deference No, please! Forgive me for refusing

plenty n. plenty of he get plenty children GE. Pidgin

plumpy a. plump that woman is plumpy GE. (older?)

poach v.i. to have diarrhoea yesterday I was poaching N.B. does not mean you have taken a medicine. cf. purge

police n. policeman one police is there taking bribe GE.

politics n. shorthand for the introduction of democratic elections in 1999 since there was politics we no longer pay tax on fish-ponds

pomade n. oily paste rubbed on the hair and body GE. can be extended to almost any sort of cream rubbed on the body

porridge 1. n. heavy dumpling-like porridge of cereals such as sorghum, millet etc. served as a staple Northern

porridge 2. n. cooked staple with sauce mixed in Southern

possible best n. best I have tried my possible best.

potash n. yellowish-grey stone from the North Ground for use in cooking and with snuff. A mixture of sodium and potassium carbonate.

potassium n. blue mineral taken as medicine

poultry n. poultry farm The committee inspected 15 poultries on campus.

pound v.t. to pound a staple into porridge GE. not usually found in other senses

praise-singer n. musician or singer who sings praises to eminent people in the North WAE

prawn n. prawn, but also shrimp and other smaller crustaceans such as sqills and ghost-shrimps

pregnate v.t. to make pregnant she has been pregnated. He has pregnanted her Also pregnant (stress on second syllable)

press v.t. to iron He is pressing clothes ≠ dry-cleaning as in SE

price v.t. to find out the price of Please price tomatoes for me!

private part n.p. genitals GE. properties n. property Collect

your properties prostitute v.i. to behave as a prostitute

Becky began prostituting at age nineteen. [Information booklet]

protector n. metal grille placed over door or window as burglar-proofing

provincial a. small-minded, dull he is a provincial man

pudding n. prepared food wrapped in leaves

puff-puff n. round fried cakes made from flour and sugar also poff-poff

puggy a. pure water n. water (from any source)

sealed inside plastic bags and sold cold from the fridge in the street Viable small businesses … are mostly in such trades as hair dressing and barbing salons, tailoring shops as well as “pure water” packaging businesses. (Guardian 11.10.02 p. 22, col. 2)

purge v.i. to have diarrhoea yesterday I was purging N.B. does not mean you have taken a medicine. cf. poach

pushful a. pushy, ambitious, go-ahead put on v.t. as in SE, but also ‘to wear’ He

is putting on shoes He is wearing shoes put to bed v.i./t. to give birth (to) She

put to bed a bouncing baby boy put to birth v.i./t. to give birth


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Q. qualitative a. quality The thing is

qualitative It is of good quality quarrel v.t. to argue with s.o. I quarrelled

him I argued with him Queen’s English n.p. Standard Nigerian

English in contrast to Broken English (q.v.). Mainly SNE

quelea (bird) n. black-faced dioch, a major agricultural pest in semi-arid Nigeria < Scientific name Quelea quelea

quench v.i./t. to stop, to turn off, to extinguish The thing has quenched It has stopped. Quench it! Turn it off cf. colonial era story of someone buying an electric stove/oven (then a novelty) just before going on leave, and asking cook on his return how it was working: reply “Fine! Fire never quench!”

query v.t. to question intensively [over a bureaucratic misdeed] The headmaster queried him seriously GE.

quite a. qualifier in the sense of ‘very’ but used with negatives See ‘not quite’

Quite an age! sal. I haven’t seen you for ages!

R. rabbit n. giant rat, Cricetomys, widely sold in

markets and by the roadside. cf. giant rat SNE only. Rabbit as in SE in NNE.

rank xerox n. copying in an exam exactly, contrast dubbing St. sl.

rascal a. badly-behaved, criminal Those rascal boys did this!

rascality n. bad behaviour he never tires of his rascality

rascally a. badly-behaved, criminal they are rascally they behave badly

rate n. usu. in the expression at the rate of xx meaning ‘it cost xx’

reach v.i./t. to reach in SE, but also intransitively we have reach we have arrived

recent, of adv. recently I have not seen him of recent

Reduce! excl. Lower the price!

refutal n. refutation commonly used in newspapers to deny s.t. is the case

remain v.t. to be left over remain ten Naira there is ten Naira left GE.

remotely adv. in a remote place, far away he lives remotely in the village he lives far away in a village

rentage n. rent reply v.i. to reply to he replied me request for v.t. to request I wish to

request for a loan. GE. (on the model of ask for)

research n. used with indefinite article The Hart Report is a very treacherous historical document to rely on for a serious research. (Aye, E. U. 2002. The origin and migrations of the Efiks. Calabar: The Author.)

result to v.t. result in They will ask you some tough questions which will result to your death if you are unable to answer them well. RF

revenge v.i. to revenge an action I will revenge N.B. has a less serious, more jocular aspect than SE.

rewind v.i. repeat, start over Prof I beg, rewind st. sl.

ripe v.i. to ripen the mango has riped GE.

ritualist n. follower of traditional religion, but often with implication of s.o. who kills others for ritual purposes

road-safety n. A special unit intended to enforce road-safety regulations the road-safety are taking bribe on Abuja road

round n. bout of sexual activity inability to go a second round [common expression in adverts for traditional medicine]

roundlight n. Mercedes Benz sp. [defined as] the type of Mercedes Benz with two pairs of round headlights that currently represents the summit of material achievement (NI 343:20.col.1)

roselle n. green leaf, Hibiscus sabdariffa, used to make soup TE. also sorrel (q.v.)

rub minds v.p. to interact with, to discuss with let us rub minds

rubber [roba] n. A. any strip of elastic material, such as the flexible strips used to attach loads to a bicycle use roba to fix it to the bicycle

B. plastic bowl, bucket or similar open container GE. around Port Harcourt


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S. sakara n. popular music style using a small

frame-drum, sakara Salla(h) p.n. Islamic festivals of Id-el-

Fitri and Id-el-Kebir I am going for Salla GE. <Arabic sala 'pray'

sawasawa n. fruit sp. Annona squamosa cf. also soursop

sanitation n. custom of staying in the house on some Saturday mornings so that the householders could keep ‘the environment’ clean Begun in the 1970s and now discontinued

sapara n. lighter, more casual form of agbada <name of Yoruba doctor who introduced it

Sapele n. trade-name for Entandrophragma cylindricum

say v.t. usu. in the expression What says the time? i.e. ‘What is the time?’

scattered p.a. untidy, messy The house is scattered

scent-leaf n. scented green leaf Ocimum gratissimum

schooling n. at school Where are you schooling? N.B. implies secondary school not University

scrape v.t. to shave off He scraped his head He shaved off all the hair on this head.

sea n. wide river or estuary, not the ocean Nigerian Delta English

sea-pirates n. pl. pirates who rob passengers and leave them stranded while they make off with the boat (the equivalent on the rivers of armed robbers on the roads)

second burial n.p. ceremony held a year or more after the death of an important person

security n. security man, guard Where is the security for this building?

see flower v.p. to menstruate see pepper v.p. to get or be in trouble

sef u.t. emphatic? I have been hearing of this

madam and saying who is this woman, sef? of Pidgin origin although used more widely now

Dis God sef! Na wa oh:- me I no know

How I go take think am sef E just dey surprise me every time I think of am!

(Pidgin poem by B. A. Mukoro-Penawei)

seize v.t. to cut off [electricity] NEPA has

seized the light cf. also take They have taken light

select v.t. to separate out, e.g. into large and small sizes she was selecting the good groundnuts contrasted with choose (q.v.)

sell out v.p. to sell she is selling out local Maggi

semi-singlet n. type of t-shirt send-forth party n.p. party to celebrate

either a girl getting engaged or someone being posted to another part of the country

senior v.t. to be older than He seniors me senior service n.p. senior ranks of the civil

service series n. Used without indefinite article It

has a hard, paper-like texture, which softens after series of washings. (Nigerian Tribune 25.06.02 p4).

seriously adv. strongly, intensely I will query you seriously I will ensure you are questioned intensively [over a bureaucratic misdeed] GE.

sew v.t. to make (by sewing) damask was used to sew iro and buba. (Nigerian Tribune 25.06.02 p4 GE.

sex v.t. to have sex with s.o. he sexed her very well he engaged in energetic sex with her GE.

Sha p.u.t. makes the sentence that follows conditional but often simultaneously asks a question Sha, you are going to the market, buy me some tomatoes will you please? If you are going to the market, please buy me some tomatoes

shall have aux have (in future context) cf. 19th c. English: ‘When the seas and large rivers of our globe shall have been more fully explored, many animals may be brought to knowledge of the naturalist, which at present are known only in the state of fossils’ G. Young 1840 Scriptural geology (cited in S. Winchester 2001 (2002) The map that changed the world, p.116

share v.t. to deal (cards) sharp v.t. to sharpen he was sharping the

knife shea n. tree, Vitellaria paradoxa

GE. formerly the most common source of oil in savanna areas, but now falling into disuse. Also shea-oak


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shea-butter n. oil from the shea tree GE.

shea-oak n. shea tree Colonial era expression no longer in use. ‘Oak’ from the shape of the leaves.

shock v.t. to give … a shock Take care or the thing will shock you

short knicker n.p. shorts you are wearing short knicker again

shout on p.v. to shout at, to talk to agressively Why do you shout on me like that?

shovel n. spade shunt v.i. to join a queue other than at the end

st. sl. signboard n. sign, advertising hoarding

GE. silk-cotton n. kapok tree, Ceiba

pentandra TE. So called because the pods contain a fluffy cotton used to stuff pillows

since long adv.p. for a long time, since long ago Since long, he has not come here

sister n. respect term for woman of approximately equal age and status to the speaker GE. more commonly but not necessarily used by women

sit down v.i. to stay in one place sitting down and doing nothing does not mean literally sitting but implies inaction

size v.t. to be the right size for, to fit The jacket does not size me

slang n. slang expression, can be pluralized It is a slang or Students use many slangs GE.

slap v.t. to slap, but metaphorically to give great offence to so. He abused me, so I slapped him well-well GE. to slap someone is to insult them very seriously

sleep off v.p. to go to sleep I sat down to read my book and just slept off

slippers n. flip-flops, flat rubber beach-shoes

small a. applied to people (usually small boy, small girl), unimportant He is just a small boy He is low-status, his opinions don’t matter GE.

small adv. a little, not very much Let us go chop small let us go and eat a little wait small wait a little

small chop n.p. snacks, small dishes of food GE.? more a colonial usage than genuinely part of West African English

small-small adv. little by little, in small amounts things are getting better small-small

or add more soup, small-small GE. Can also be an exclamation, Small-small! meaning gently, or carefully

smell pepper v.p. to get a shock He will smell pepper today He’ll get a shock

snail-speed a. slow There are many factors responsible for the snail-speed development [The Tarok Woman, p. 63, TWA 2000]

snake-lizard n. skink snap v.t. to photograph Snap me! take a

photo of me arch. SE so v.c. that s.t. is the the case they deny so they

deny that it is the case so far as adv. p. for ‘Insofar as’ So far as I

have already come, Since I’ve come anyway arch. SE

Sokoto n. traditional dress associated with Sokoto

solid food n. any type of pounded staple or food that does not come in separated grains applies to yam, pounded cereals etc. Contrast with ‘light food’. Also ‘strong food’.

some funny thing n.p. strange thing My brother told me about some funny thing

somebody n. person You said that you should advise me to marry him because he was a mannered somebody. RF

Sorry! excl. Exclamation used when someone hurts themselves or suffers a loss. GE. This is used even when it is the fault of the individual, which would be inappropriate in SE

sort v.t. bribe a lecturer to pass an exam or get a better grade She has sorted the lecturer. A lecturer is not ready to teach his course, at the end he sets a paper, and of course the students sort him (heard in Senate) st.sl. but now becoming generalised

sorting n. bribing of a lecturer to pass an exam or get a better grade Sorting is too common today st.sl.

so-so a. very soup n. sauce accompanying any pounded

staple GE. soursop n. fruit of West Indian origin

TE. Annona squamosa cf. also sawasawa

spark v.i. to produce showers of sparks NEPA wire is sparking the electricity wires are showering sparks not uncommon in the rainy season and a great source of entertainment to all


25

those who witness it. Nigeria's equivalent of the Northern lights.

spark v.t. to connect, as in electrical wiring Spark it! [said by car mechanic to second mechanic to make a connection] GE.

specie n. singular of species spent horse n.p. person who no longer has

anything to contribute ? for ‘spent force’

spoil v.i./t. to go bad, to no longer work The thing has spoiled It has stopped working. They have spoiled all they’ve messed everything up GE.

spottish a. spotted the animal is somehow spottish

spray v.t. to place money on the forehead of a dancer or musician at a ceremony

spring-bed n. bed with springs as opposed to hard base

squat, to v.i. to stay with friends or relatives temporarily [usually because you cannot stay in your own home] she is just there, squatting

squelch v.i./t. to finish, to stop working (device)

staff n. staff member, co-worker He is a staff at the school. Also in plural. They are staffs at the college Also I had lunch with one of my staffs GE.

steal away v.t. to steal I don’t park my car on the road, in case thieves steal it away.

stew n. sauce accompanying staple that is boiled, such as yam, rice etc. GE.

stockfish n. dried, salted cod, imported from Scandinavia, now an expensive delicacy GE. cf. also okpokoro

storey building n.p. any building with more than one storey GE.

stranger n. visitor, guest I see you have strangers visiting GE. adapted from Nigerian languages where stranger and visitor are often the same word

strolling n. wandering about in a social fashion like the Mediterranean promenade, but also applied to animals we are going for strolling or the pig has gone for strolling

strong food n. any type of pounded staple or food that does not come in separated grains applies to yam, pounded cereals etc. Contrast with ‘light food’. Also ‘solid food’.

stupid a. irresponsible, uncontrolled, badly-behaved those machine boys are very stupid

the motor-cycle taxi drivers are very irresponsible

sweet a. delicious, good-tasting, not necessarily applied to sweet things. Extended to things other than food the soup is very sweet the sauce is delicious The music/dance is very sweet GE.

sugar-daddy n. older man who supports younger woman in exchange for sex GE. < American English

sugar-mummy n. older woman who supports younger man in exchange for sex GE. Sugar-daddy is a longstanding Americanism but sugar-mummy is a more recent West African formation.

sue to court v.p. to bring a charge against s.o. He will sue me to court he will bring a charge against me

suffer v.i. to make things difficult for s.o. He was suffering me he was making things difficult for me

suya n. kebab, roasted meat on stick University of suya [sign on roadside kebab stand] <Hausa

swallow v.i/t. to eat pounded yam or other foods that do not require chewing No, I don't want jollof rice, I want to swallow i.e. I want to eat yam etc.

sweet a. good-tasting, desirable The soup was very sweet ≠sugary

swell-fish n. puffer-fish Tetraodon spp.

T. tablet n. pills, a pill I am going to town

to look for tablet Taiwan adj. inferior type of manufactured article

(contrast Belgian) take v.t. to eat, to prefer a type of food or

drink Can you take Nigerian food? Do you eat Nigerian food? GE.

take v.t. cut (power) They have taken light the electricity has gone off also seize

take in p.v. to become pregnant, to conceive She has taken in . Their daughter took in somebody

take it to be p.v. to assume that s.t. is x Take time! excl. used to urge s.o. to do s.t.

slowly and carefully talk less conj. let alone A lady

officer had said that they had not been able to


26

honour tickets bought in Cameroon, talk less of the one from Nigeria.

tamba n. finger-millet < Hausa taste v.i. to taste [but without object] the

beans do not taste well tasteful a. tasty for your tasteful food

[typical restaurant sign] taxi-park n. place where long-distance

taxis congregate cf. also motor-park tea n. any drink made with hot water

GE. tea-bush n. Ocimum gratissimum

Term taught in schools in colonial period. = scent-leaf

tear v.i./t. to be torn or to tear up The cloth has torn. You can tear it, it is useless.

tell lie v.p. to tell a lie He is telling lie! temporal a. temporary This patch

is only temporal, we will fix it properly tomorrow GE.

ten-pounder n. West African ladyfish Elops lacerta tent n. mosquito net ? restricted

to the Delta area that dem. fronted demonstrative That your

book thatch n. thatching-mat, many of which are

used to thatch a house They have bought many thatches.

themselves pron. each other My sisters love themselves. or The Husband and Wife who hate themselves [title of an Onitsha novel]

thinking nothing v.p. to not be thinking about anything particular I was sitting there, thinking nothing

those days, in adv. p. in the far past People used to go about naked in those days.

thunder protector n. lightning protector

tiger n. leopard ME tiger-nut n. sweet, edible corm,

Cyperus esculentus TE tight v.t. to tighten tight the screw

GE. tight friend a.p. close friend till date a.p. up till now Thank you,

god, for sparing our lives till date! [Ovation, Issue 53:132, 2003]

tinted a. with tinted windows he always goes about in tinted cars he travels in a car with smoked-glass windows

tokunbo n. used vehicle, stereotypically imported from Belgium

these cars generally arrive from Cotonou and are now imported from a wide variety of European countries. The expression can also be applied to other ‘second-new’ items.

tolotolo a. as in tolotolo head, i.e. stupid that tolotolo head is still trailing him < Hausa, Yoruba tolotolo, ‘turkey’.

tombo n. palm-wine tomtom n. slit-gong

SNE. N.B. This sounds rather patronising in SE but is used without pejorative implications in NE.

tong v.t. to straighten with tongs tonging, often seen on hairdressers’ adverts

too much adv. a great deal, but not with the implication of excessively He disturbs me too much GE. the ‘too’ is often lengthened and given a glide tone

torchlight n. torch [Amer. flashlight]

toto n. vagina GE. also tutu tough a. Person who tries to gain prestige by

spending money He is a tough man towel n. stomach-lining of animals

From its appearance. Commonly sold in the market place.

trace out p.v.t. to track down, to find the location of I will go and trace him out

trafficate v.i. to use the indicators on a car GE. N.B. not considered archaic in NE

trafficator n. indicator light on vehicle N.B. not considered archaic in NE

transport n. A. transportation I am going to the taxi-park to try and pick transport GE.

B. money for transport What of my transport?

travelled v.i. used to indicate not present out of town Where is x? He has travelled! GE.

trek v.i. to go by foot I must trek to market

trickish a. tricky he is somehow trickish

try v.i. to have made an effort and succeeded You have tried! You have worked hard to achieve this. Try your possible best! Do your best! GE.

tube n. cigarette-holder SNE tune to… p.v. to put on music from a

particular artist or country Tune to Congo! Put on Zairean music!


27

turn v.t. to transfer food or liquid from one container to another Please, turn the leftover soup into that plastic container the image is turning out solid food as you might turn out a cake, but the meaning has been extended

turner n. large wooden spatula or paddle used for stirring starch and gari

U. under repair a.p. being repaired My moto is

under repair uniform n. same material worn by

members of a group It is commopn for members of the same family, church group etc. to have a dress made up from identical cloth; used or ceremonial purposes

unless a. used in response to a question, meaning roughly ‘No, only x’ Do you get oranges? Unless mango.

up-and-down n. woman’s dress where the blouse and wrapper are made from the same material GE.

up to v.c. capable of doing s.t. he is up to he can do it

up-wine n. wine tapped from a standing oil palm

up-yam n. aerial yam Dioscorea bulbifera

upliftment n. uplifting This will contribute to the upliftment of the population Often refers to more concrete items than in SE, for example, a new pump as opposed to moral improvement.

upon all (that) conj.p. despite that Upon all that, he still goes there

upstairs n. building with a second floor

use v.a. in use to, implying to do s.t. regularly he use to come here he comes here regularly. GE. Marks habitual, extended to present from SE used to

V. V-boot n. fashionable type of Mercedes Benz

(preceding roundlight?) VCD plate n. video-disc vampire 1. nocturnal bird which

enters and makes a noise inside roof of buildings In Williamson (ined.)

2. hence, a bird believed to be housing the spirit of a witch When shot down, it is not to be touched but burnt to ashes, after which the witch is believed to die within a few days

very a. actual he is the very boy he’s the actual person arch. SE

vex v.i. to get annoyed Mastah, no (go) vex! Boss, don’t get annoyed Pidgin

Vice n. Vice-President He was to be the Vice of Abiola

virgina n. common spelling of vagina presumably by confusion with virgin

vulcanise v.t. to repair a puncture go and vulcanise the tyre GE. archaic in SE but not in West Africa

vulcaniser n. one who repairs tyres GE. archaic SE

W. wack v. to eat Man must wack! Name of

chop-bar students’ slang <Pidgin wahala n. trouble, problem I had plenty

wahala I had lots of trouble This boy made wahala for me < Hausa. GE.

waist n. back, lower back My waist is paining me I have back-pain GE.

walnut n. nut sp. eaten as a snack Tetracarphidium conophorum

want v.i. to be about to, to be able to The car didn’t want to start SNE

wash v.t. 1. to develop film So far they didn’t wash it they haven’t developed it yet

v.t. 2. to celebrate a new birth or acquisition such as a car When will you wash the car? When will you have a small celebration for your new car? ? < Hausa. e.g. Za mu wanke shi we will wash it, i.e. celebrate it

wash off v.t. to wash out, clean off he was washing off his dress i.e. he was cleaning his clothes

watchnight n. night-watchman giving way to security(-man)

waterproof n. plastic bag wave v.t. to wave at I waved him but he

did not see me wax n. wax-printed decorative cloth,

formerly often from Holland she went to market to buy wax also Dutch wax

wear v.t. put on Wear your shoes! (Parent to child)


28

wears n. pl. clothes Unisex wears [advert.] weave-on (also weavon) n.

hairdressing style where additional hair is added to the natural one GE

Welldone! excl. General approval after someone has completed s.t. Afternoon! Welldone! [Also encouragement to someone working: equivalent to Igbo Jìsí íké, Yoruba Ẹ kúsé! [check], etc.]

well-fed a. fat [as SE but applied to animals] a gift of a well-fed cow

well-well adv. very well You do this thing well-well You should do it very well Pidgin

what and what int. Used when the anticipated reply includes more than one item. What and what did you buy? GE

whether conj. stands for if, to see if… let us go to the office, whether he is there

whereby conj. ???? wild pumpkin n. climbing plant with yellow

flowers whose fruit is used as sponge Luffa cylindrica

will aux. would he will like to go to Abuja

windstrap n. whirlwind, tornado used in Kaduna. Locally analysed as ‘wind’s trap’.

within adv. inside [but not in an inner room] He is within. [i.e. he is somewhere in the building]

What of…? int. What about..? What of my feeding? What about money to pay for food?

wrap n. piece of food wrapped in a leaf She gave me a wrap of moinmoin she gave me one leaf-packet of cooked bean paste

wrapper n. cloth worn wrapped around the body from the waist to below the knees by males or females tie your wrapper well fix your cloth so that it stays in place

wolf n. hyena ME woman a. female the market is completely a

women affair Wonderful! excl. Exclamation used for a

surprising event of any type. GE. Thus on hearing of the death of a close relative it would be appropriate to say Wonderful! ? calque of Hausa Mamaki!

working-place n. work-place

worry v.t. to annoy, to trouble This thing worries me too much GE.

work-bar n. commission claimed from a supercargo by the representatives of a house to which a trade belongs on every twenty puncheons of oil bought Niger Delta, archaic

would aux. will Federal Government would solve light problems by next year

X. Y. yard n. length of cloth I went to market to

buy some yards yellow a. light-skinned See that yellow

boy! yellow fever n. hepatitis, jaundice

Yellow Fever n. traffic policeman A

Yellow Fever stopped me so named because of their orange uniforms

Yes now! excl. Response of encouragement to rhetorical polar question. Shall I go buy wrapper at the market? Yes, now! Pronounced with a rising intonation on ‘now’.

Z. zana mat n. mat made from a heavy

grass, used for doors and fencing < Hausa. GE.

zinc n. corrugated iron sheets used for roofing Remain one zinc to complete it. It only needs one sheet of corrugated iron to complete [the roof].

zone v.t. to practise zoning (q.v.) zoning n. common political practice designed

to reduce ethnic tension, whereby political positions are shared among areas in such a way that particular posts are shared out ahead of the election to specific areas; competition for each post is then limited to people from the agreed area


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Numbers 404 n. dogmeat 404 is ready sign outside an eating establishment Cross River, Akwa Ibom only 419 n. monetary fraud he is trying 419 on them <the number of the act defining this as a crime 504 n. Peugeot 504 saloon car, once almost the only brand on the roads 911 n. Mercedes-Benz 911 truck, with built-up wooden sides, the common workhorse of commercial goods transport in Nigeria

Nigerian English Dictionary

Documents

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west tropical

nigerian english

nigerian english

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ghanaian english

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